HHH^^^Hflfl 


AT    LOS  ANGELES 


THE  LITERARY  HISTORY 
OF  THE  ADELPHI  AND 
ITS    NEIGHBOURHOOD 


THE    LITERARY    HIS- 
TORY OF  THE  ADELPHI 

AND   ITS   NEIGHBOURHOOD 


By   AUSTIN    BRERETON 


WITH  A   NEW   INTRODUCTION 


NEW    YORK : 

DUFFIELD    &    COMPANY 
36-38  WEST  37th  STREET 

1909 


First  Edition    .         igoy 
Second  Edition         1908 


{All  rights  reserved.) 


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Note 

This  book  is  intended  for  the  general  reader,  as  well  as  for 
the  antiquarian  and  the  lover  of  London.  To  this  end,  the 
history  of  the  Adelphi  and  its  immediate  neighbourhood 
to  the  west  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  Strand  has  been 
related  in — as  far  as  possible — narrative  form.  At  the  same 
time,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  every  care  has  been  taken  to 
present  the  multitude  of  details  correctly  and  as  a  truthful 
picture  of  one  of  the  most  interesting  parts  of  the  great 
metropolis.  I  should  be  ungrateful  if  I  did  not  take  this 
opportunity  of  again — as  in  the  case  of  my  chronicle  of  the 
Lyceum  and  Henry  Irving — thanking  Mr  E.  Gardner  for  so 
courteously  placing  at  my  disposal  his  unique  and  invaluable 
collection  of  London  records  and  engravings.  The  majority 
of  the  illustrations  were  kindly  lent  by  him ;  others  were 
.  copied  from  prints  in  the  British  Museum.  I  have  also  to 
thank  the  officials  of  St  Martin's  Library  for  their  ready 
help  in  enabling  me  to  consult,  at  my  leisure,  some  scarce 
books  connected  with  the  literature  of  historical  London. 

A.  B. 


CO 


429316 


INTRODUCTION 

"  The  Literary  History  of  the  Adelphi  "  has  journeyed 
from  one  side  of  the  neighbourhood  to  the  other,  from 
west  to  east.  That  is  to  say,  its  publication  has  been 
acquired  by  Mr.  Fisher  Unwin,  hence  the  removal  of  the 
book  from  York  Buildings  to  Adelphi — originally  called 
"  Royal,"  and  still  so  marked  on  the  old  plans — Terrace. 
This  peregrination  gives  me  the  opportunity  of  supplement- 
ing the  original  work  with  some  interesting  particulars 
which  have  just  come  into  my  possession.  Who  would 
think  that  within  a  short  distance  of  the  Strand,  if  not 
actually  within  the  proverbial  stone's  throw,  there  are 
"  cottages,"  and  cottages,  too,  with  trees  and  flowers  and 
lawns,  and  a  mighty  river,  for  prospect  ?  Yet  such  is  the 
case,  although  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  rate  collector  who 
is  new  to  this  part  of  London  has  much  ado  to  find 
"  Adelphi  cottages."  They  belong  to  that  mysterious 
region  which  lies  underneath  the  Strand  level  of  the 
Adelphi  and  is  vaguely  known  as  the  "arches."  If  the 
reader  will  glance  at  the  illustration  which  faces  page  32 
— "  The  Buildings  called  the  Adelphi " — he  will  see,  at 
the  top  of  the  arches  and  under  the  terrace,  some  fifteen 
semi-circular  recesses.  These  are  really  capacious  rooms, 
and  from  the  windows  thereof  the  view  of  the  Embank- 
ment Gardens  and  the  Thames  is  considerable  compensa- 
tion for  the  tediousness  and  deviousness  of  the  approach. 
The  "  cottages "  were  originally  attached  to  the  houses 
on  the  terrace  above,  and,  until  recent  years,    they  were 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

inhabited.  Now,  however,  the  majority  of  them  are 
let  separately  and  are  used  as  stores  or  workshops. 
One  of  them,  however,  is  still  occupied  as  a  dwelling- 
place,  and,  whatever  else  it  may  be,  this  habitation  is 
certainly  unique. 

Underneath  the  "  Adelphi  cottages,"  and  extending 
below  the  houses  of  the  terrace,  and  John,  Robert,  and 
Adam  Streets,  are  the  famous  arches,  which  few  people, 
either  Londoners,  who  know  nothing  of  their  own  city, 
or  Americans,  who  are  versed  in  the  lore  of  our  ancient 
streets,  have  ever  visited.  Truth  to  tell,  the  expedition 
to  the  Adelphi  arches  is  not  to  be  undertaken  with  too 
light  a  heart.  The  gloomy  recesses  do  not  conduce  to 
joy,  and,  although  the  foot-pad  has  scant  opportunity 
for  indulging  in  his  nefarious  practices,  he  would  be  a 
venturesome  person,  a  stranger  to  these  parts,  who  would 
wander  alone  in  this  underground  world  after  the  sun, 
which  never  enters  these  passages,  had  ceased  to  illumine 
the  earth  above.  This  very  darkness  and  dismalness  has 
its  advantages  at  times.  When  Messrs.  Coutts,  for 
instance,  moved  from  their  old  premises  in  the  Strand, 
there  was  much  speculation  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
they  transferred  their  immense  stock  of  securities,  deeds, 
and  other  valuables  from  one  side  of  the  road  to  the  other. 
There  was  great  talk  at  the  time  of  armies  of  detectives 
and  the  use  of  the  early  hours  of  Sundays,  and  other 
vague  suggestions  were  allowed  to  be  promulgated.  It 
was  assumed  that  the  transference  would  take  place  from 
one  side  of  the  road  to  the  other,  and  it  was  thought  that 
there  might  be  some  audacious  attempts  at  robbery.  In 
reality,  the  matter  was  quite  simple  and  there  was  not  the 
slightest  danger  of  any  attack  upon  the  priceless  posses- 
sions. Far  removed  from  the  noisy  Strand — in  regard 
to  atmosphere  and  surroundings — there  is  an  arch,  dark 
indeed,  and  shut  off  from  the  outer  world  by  huge  gates, 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

which  are  some  distance  away.  Here,  many  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  streets,  is  a  secret  entrance  to  the  premises 
of  the  old  bank.  And  here,  in  absolute  security,  never 
dreamt  of  by  the  enterprising  thief,  the  carts  were  loaded 
with  their  treasures. 

The  actual  removal  of  these  valuables  was  effected  with 
great  ease.  The  carts  wended  their  innocent  way  through 
the  dreary  arches,  in  front  of  the  "  cottages,"  and  passed 
out  by  a  "  right  of  way "  underneath  the  Hotel  Cecil, 
towards  Blackfriars.  Thus,  the  would-be  thief  was 
deluded  of  his  prey.  This  "right  of  way"  marks  the 
bottom  of  Ivy  Lane,  which  is  still  in  existence.  It  runs 
from  the  Strand  and  denotes  the  boundary  of  the  Duchy 
of  Lancaster  and  the  City  of  Westminster.  Formerly,  it 
was  an  open  thoroughfare,  but  there  is  now,  at  the  Strand 
entrance  as  well  as  at  the  bottom,  a  gate.  At  the  river 
end,  there  was,  in  olden  times,  a  bridge,  or  pier,  called  Ivy 
Bridge.  But  I  think  that  there  must  have  been,  not  only 
a  bridge  in  the  Strand,  but  that  there  was  a  stream  which 
ran  hence  into  the  Thames.  John  Stow,  in  his  "  Survey  of 
London,"  first  published  in  1598,  speaks  of  "  Ivy  Bridge, 
in  the  High  Street,  which  had  a  way  under  it  leading 
to  the  Thames,  the  like  as  sometime  had  the  Strand 
Bridge."  Now,  the  Strand  Bridge  was  over  the  stream 
of  St.  Clement's  Well,  and  Strand  Lane,  like  Ivy  Lane, 
ran  down  to  the  river,  and,  like  it,  there  was  a  pier  at  the 
end.  I  am  the  more  certain  that  there  must  have  been  a 
river  of  sorts  at  the  junction  of  Ivy  Lane  and  the  Strand, 
because  to  this  day,  as  I  found  in  the  course  of  a  recent 
investigation,  a  stream  trickles  under  John  Street  and 
renders  useless  a  large  cellar.  Nothing  can  stop  it.  It 
percolates  now,  just  as  it  has  done  ever  since  the  excava- 
tions made  by  the  Brothers  Adam  in  1768.  It  is  drained 
away,  but  it  is  just  sufficient  to  create  a  damp  atmosphere 
which  is  detrimental  to  the  storing  of  wine. 


x  INTRODUCTION 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  bottles  of  wine — chiefly  port, 
claret,  and  burgundy — are  in  bins  here, and  a  most  admirable 
place  for  the  purpose  it  is.  The  underground  Adelphi  is 
absolutely  dry — save  for  the  one  spot  mentioned — and  the 
temperature  does  not  vary  five  degrees  in  the  course  of  a 
year.  Here,  also,  are  many  hundreds  of  cases  of  champagne, 
and  here  the  jaded  Londoner — if  he  be  sufficiently  favoured 
— might  come  and  feast  his  eyes  on  some  few  dozens 
of  bottles  of  "  white  port  " — a  wine  which  is  not  in  fashion 
in  these  degenerate  days,  but  which,  I  rejoiced  to  learn, 
is  still  sent  hence  to  a  certain  royal  household.  Strange 
as  it  may  seem,  there  is  a  strong  air  of  royalty  about  these 
dimly-lit  vaults.  What  between  the  secret  entrance  to  the 
old  premises  of  the  great  bankers — Messrs.  Coutts  are  the 
bankers  for  his  Majesty  and  for  the  Queen x — and  the 
"  white  port "  which  gives  its  benefit  to  illustrious  persons 
of  royal  lineage,  there  is  a  distinct  feeling  that  one  is 
moving  on  an  exalted  plane  when,  paradoxical  as  it  may 
seem,  we  are  in  this  subterranean  place.  The  distinctly 
regal  air  which  pervades  these  caves  of  silence  may  have 
given  rise  to  a  certain  statement  that  hereabouts — half  a 
dozen  yards  from  the  royal  stock  of  "  white  port" — Lady 
Jane  Grey  was  cast  into  a  dungeon  deep  and  carried  thence 
to  the  dreaded  Tower,  there  to  be  beheaded.  But  the 
"  Nine  Days'  Queen  "  knew  only  her  gardens  and  her  flowers 
when  she  lived  in  Durham  House — the  predecessor  of  the 
Adelphi.  Here,  in  May,  1553,  the  Duke  of  Northumber- 
land married  his  son,  Lord  Guildford  Dudley,  to  Lady 
Jane,  in  pursuance  of  his  design  for  altering  the  suc- 
cession from  the  Tudor  to  the  Dudley  family.  The 
unfortunate  girl  of  scarce  seventeen  summers  certainly 
left  Durham  House  for  the  Tower — but  it  was  with  great 
pomp  and  circumstance,  in  order  to  be  proclaimed  Queen. 
Her  execution    followed    hard    upon,   but   she    knew  not 

1  See  page  212. 


INTRODUCTION  xl 

i  mprisonment  in  what  is  now  the  Adelphi.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  haunt  of  a  wretched  woman  is  still  to  be  seen 
in  this  gloomy  spot.  "  Jenny's  Holes  "  figure  on  the  plan 
to  this  day,  and  are  not  likely  to  be  obliterated  there- 
from. Into  one  or  other  of  these  places — recesses  by  the 
main  arches — the  outcast  came  to  sleep  and,  finally,  to 
die ;  some  say,  indeed,  that  she  was  murdered  here. 
"  Jenny "  has  no  history,  but  the  vague  tradition  of  her 
misery  still  haunts  these  "dark  arches."  Nor  is  the 
story  at  all  improbable.  The  "  dark  arches "  are  for- 
bidding  enough  now,  and,  even  in  the  day-time,  the 
sparse  gas  jets  only  serve  to  make  darkness  visible.  So 
recently  as  the  early  seventies,  when  Mr.  George  Drum- 
mond  came  into  the  property,  cows  were  kept  in  the 
underground  passages  of  the  Adelphi. 

Adelphi  Terrace,  Adam  Street  to  the  east,  and  John 
Street,  which  is  parallel  with  the  terrace  and  the  Strand, 
and  in  between,  still  retain  much  of  their  old-world  appear- 
ance. But  at  the  western  side  of  the  Adelphi  changes  are 
afoot.  There  is  a  new  building,  facing  the  river,  but 
stunted  and  barred  from  its  proper  height  by  that  bugbear 
of  the  modern  builder,  "  ancient  lights."  Then,  again,  the 
Caledonian  Hotel,  in  Robert  Street,  has  taken  to  itself  a 
new  storey,  and  has  been  transmogrified  into  modern 
flats  with  —  oh,  shade  of  Adam  !  —  bath-rooms.  The 
searcher  after  the  picturesque  in  London  architecture 
might  do  worse  than  descend  from  the  Strand,  past  the 
Tivoli.  He  will  then  be  on  the  site  of  one  of  the  gate- 
ways of  Old  Durham  House,  and,  turning  to  the  right, 
he  will  see  a  bridge  of  beautiful  design.  It  was  built,  in 
order  to  connect  the  Strand  and  Adelphi  premises  of  the 
bank,  by  Thomas  Coutts,  who  procured  a  special  Act  of 
Parliament  for  the  purpose. 

The  entire  Adelphi  estate  occupies  a  little  over  three 
acres  and  a  quarter,  divided  as  follows  : — 


xii  INTRODUCTION 


Houses  (only)            

Roadways,  terrace,  and  areas 
Foreground 

Superficial 
feet. 

...     78,400 

...      45,400 

...      19,200 

143,000 

The  names  of  two  more  noted  inhabitants  of  the  Adelphi 
have  to  be  included  in  this  "  History."  The  learned 
Vicesimus  Knox  (1 752-1 821),  who  is  best  known  to  fame 
as  the  compiler  of  "Elegant  Extracts"  (1789),  lived  at 
No.  1,  Adam  Street.  The  first  floor  of  the  same  house 
was  the  place  of  retirement,  for  a  score  of  years,  of  George 
Blamire,  barrister-at-law,  "  of  very  eccentric  habits,  but 
sound  mind."  John  Timbs,  in  his  "  Curiosities  of  Lon- 
don," states  that  "  no  person  was  allowed  to  enter  his 
chamber,  his  meals  and  all  communications  being  left  by  his 
housekeeper  at  the  door  of  his  ante-room.  He  was  found 
dead  in  an  arm-chair,  in  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to 
sleep  for  twenty  years.  He  died  of  exhaustion,  from  low 
fever  and  neglect  ;  at  which  time  his  rooms  were  filled 
with  furniture,  books,  plate,  paintings,  and  other  valuable 
property."  The  eccentric  habits  are  evident ;  but  the 
"  sound  mind  "  is  a  little  doubtful. 

Finally,  I  may  state  that  I  have  followed  the  fortunes  of 
my  book,  and,  after  a  brief  excursion  into  the  noisy  part 
of  the  world  on  the  other  side  of  Charing  Cross,  have 
returned  to  the  quiet  and  comparative  solitude  of  the 
Adelphi,  where  tubes  do  not  trouble  and  motor  buses  do 
not  annoy.  "Sir,"  said  Dr.  Johnson,  "  when  a  man  is  tired 
of  London,  he  is  tired  of  life."  And  I  think  that  there  is 
no  part  of  London  of  which  a  man  can  be  in  less  appre- 
hension of  tiring  than  the  Adelphi.  It  is  of  London,  yet 
away  from  it  ;  in  the  heart  of  the  world,  yet  secluded. 
To  know  it   is  to  love  it. 

Austin  Brereton. 

September,  1908. 


Contents 


CHAPTER  I 

PAGES 

Anthony  Bek,  Bishop  of  Durham — The  Papal  Legate  and  the  Oxford 
Clergy — Henry  III.  and  the  Earl  of  Leicester — Prince  Henry — The 
Author  of  Philobiblon — Edward  III. — Thomas  Hatfield — Henry 
VIII. — Cuthbert  Tunstall  —  Cranmer  at  Durham  House  —  Anne 
Boleyn — Henry  VIII.  and  Anne  of  Cleves  feast  at  Durham  House — 
Dudley,  Duke  of  Northumberland — Lady  Jane  Grey — Queen  Mary 
— Queen  Elizabeth — Philip  Sidney — Sir  Walter  Raleigh — Elizabeth 
Throgmorton  —  Glanville  v.  Courtney — Thomas  Egerton — Fire  at 
Durham  House — Raleigh  and  his  Pipe     .....  1-20 


CHAPTER  II 

The  New  Exchange — The  Earl  of  Salisbury  proprietor — Opened  by 
James  I. — Popular  Allusions — The  First  Edition  of  Othello  published 
Here — Samuel  Pepys  a  Frequent  Visitor — Henry  Herringham — 
Otway — Etherege — Wycherley— Dryden—  Addison — Durham  House 
in  Decay — Acquired  by  the  Earl  of  Pembroke — Various  Public 
Offices  in  Durham  Yard — Charles  II.  helps  to  extinguish  a  Fire 
Here — Archbishop  Le  Tellier — Godfrey  Kneller — David  Garrick, 
wine  merchant  —  Dr  Johnson  —  Voltaire  —  Murder  in  the  New 
Exchange        ..........         21-48 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Romantic  Story  of  the  White  Milliner,  otherwise  the  Beautiful  Frances 
Jennings,  Duchess  of  Tyrconnel — Her  Youthful  Escapade — Her 
Connection  with  the  New  Exchange  the  subject  of  a  Play  by  Douglas 
Jerrold — Its  Failure  and  the  Author's  Disappointment — "Nan" 
Clarges,  afterwards   Duchess  of  Albemarle,  sells  Wash-balls  in   the 


vil 


CONTENTS 

PAGES 

New  Exchange — Her  Burial  in  Westminster  Abbey — Sir  William 
Read,  the  Quack,  cures  "Wry  Necks"  in  Durham  Yard — Demoli- 
tion of  the  New  Exchange — A  Noted  Book-shop — Ambassadors 
reside  Here 49~74 

CHAPTER  IV 

Enter  the  Brothers  Adam — Their  Marvellous  Transformation  of  the  Ruins 
of  Durham  House  and  Yard  into  the  Present  Adelphi — The  Magni- 
tude of  the  Project — Opposition  of  the  City — Defeated  by  Special 
Act  of  Parliament — The  Adelphi  Buildings  only  completed  by  Aid 
of  a  Lottery — The  Adams  explain  their  Position — Robert  Adam  : 
His  History — His  Death — James  Adam — Some  Poor  Wit,  including 
Walpole's,  at  the  Expense  of  the  Architects      ....         75~99 

CHAPTER  V 

The  Society  of  Arts — Its  Foundation — Its  Removal  to  the  Adelphi  in 
1774 — James  Barry  and  his  Famous  Paintings — Visited  in  John  Street 
by  Burke  and  Johnson — The  Latter's  opinion  of  his  Genius — De- 
scription of  his  Pictures  for  the  Society — The  Work  of  the  Society — 
"  Spot"  Ward,  the  Inventor  of  "  Friar's  Balsam" — Johnson  speaks 
in  the  Great  Room — Forsaken  by  his  "  Flowers  of  Oratory"    .     100-122 

CHAPTER  VI 

David  Garrick — His  Residence  in  the  Adelphi — Founds  the  Drury  Lane 
Fund — His  Last  Appearance  on  the  Stage — Honoured  by  Parliament 
— The  Friendship  of  Mr  and  Mrs  Garrick  for  Hannah  More — Their 
Correspondence — Garrick  helps  the  Production  of  Percy — Presents 
his  Buckles  to  Hannah  More — The  Production  of  Percy — Garrick's 
Prologue  gives  Offence — Garrick  brings  Hannah  More's  Dinner  from 
the  Adelphi  to  the  "Turk's  Head"— The  Literary  Club— His  Last 
Illness  and  Death  .........     123-144 

CHAPTER  VII 

Garrick's  Funeral  from  the  Adelphi — Johnson's  Opinion  of  Garrick  :  "A 
Liberal  Man"— His  Death  "Eclipsed  the  Gaiety  of  Nations"— 
Topham  Beauclerk  and  Johnson — Mrs  Garrick's  famous  Dinner 
Party — Johnson  and  other  Celebrities  Present — Described  by  Hannah 
More  and  Boswell — Johnson's  Morning  Visit  to  Adelphi  Terrace — 
Hannah  More's  Life  Here — Another  Dinner  Party — Death  of  Mrs 
Garrick— Shakespeare's  Gloves  sent  to  Mrs  Siddons  from  the  Adelphi 
— Goldsmith  writes  from  a  Sponging-House  to  Garrick  in  the  Adelphi 
— Becket,  the  Bookseller 145-171 

viii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VIII 

PAGES 

The  celebrated  Quack,  Dr  Graham — His  Temple  of  Health  in  the 
Adelphi — Satirised  by  Colman  and  Bannister — "Vestina,  the  Rosy 
Goddess  of  Health  " — Emma  Lyon,  Lady  Hamilton — Osborn's  Hotel 
— The  King  and  Queen  of  the  Sandwich  Islands — Their  Death  in  the 
Adelphi — Isaac  dTsraeli — The  Earl  of  Beaconsfield — Thomas  Hill, 
the  Original  of  Paul  Pry — Thomas  Hood  and  Charles  Dickens — 
David  Copferfield  and  Pickwick — Ivy  Lane — The  Fox-under-the- 
Hill— The  Adelphi  "  Dark  Arches  " 172-191 

CHAPTER  IX 

The  First  Bankers — Middleton  &  Campbell,  predecessors  of  Coutts  &  Co., 
' '  at  The  Three  Crowns  in  the  Strand  " — Patrick  and  John  Coutts — 
Patrick  and  Thomas  Coutts  in  London — Death  of  James  Coutts — 
Enter  Thomas  Coutts — Letter  by  Him — His  Stern  Character — 
Married  to  Harriot  Mellon — Susan  Starkie  and  "  The  Three  Graces" 
— Sir  Francis  Burdett — Angela  Georgina  Burdett — The  Duchess  of 
St  Albans — Anecdotes  of  Thomas  Coutts — His  Personal  Appearance 
— Interior  of  the  Bank — The  Chinese  Wall-Paper — The  Adelphi 
Chapel — Illustrious  Customers  of  Messrs  Coutts — Partners  in  the 
Firm — The  Wills  of  Thomas  Coutts  and  the  Duchess  of  St  Albans 
— The  Savage  Club — Thomas  Hardy — E.  L.  Blanchard   .         .      192-217 

CHAPTER  X 

York  House — Francis  Bacon — The  Great  Seal  taken  from  Him — Lord 
Keeper  Egerton — The  Duke  of  Buckingham,  King  James'  "  Steenie" 
— Magnificence  of  his  Entertainments — Contemporary  Descriptions — 
Bishop  Goodman's  Praise — The  Second  Duke — Dryden's  Revenge — 
The  "  Superstitious  Pictures  "  of  York  House — Buckingham's  Marriage 
— Spanish,  Russian,  and  French  Ambassadors  Here — Visits  by  Pepys 
and  Evelyn — Duke  of  Buckingham  sells  York  House — His  Curious 
Condition  of  Sale — The  Duke's  Litany 218-234 

CHAPTER  XI 

The  York  Water-Gate — Inigo  Jones'  Beautiful  Work — Built  for  the  Duke 
of  Buckingham — The  Proposal  for  its  Removal — Satires  on  the 
Subject — The  Gate  Neglected — Its  Restoration — The  Water  Tower 
— The  West-end  supplied  with  Water  from  Here — The  Steam 
Engine — Samuel  Pepys  resides  in  Buckingham  Street — William 
Etty  and  Clarkson  Stanfield — Peter  the  Great  Lodges  Here — His 
Love  of  Strong  Drink— The  Witty  Earl  of  Dorset— David  Hume  and 
Jean  Jacques  Rousseau — Moore  writes  to  his  Publisher  Here — The 
Father  of  Modern  Geology— A  Great  Actor  dies  Here— The  Original 

ix 


CONTENTS 

PAGES 

of  Smollett's  Hugh  Strap — David  Copperfield's  Chambers — Evelyn 
lives  in  Villiers  Street — Sir  Richard  Steele — Zara  acted  Here — Mrs 
Cibber— Misstatement  by  "  Anthony  Pasquin  "         .         .         .     235-248 

CHAPTER  XII 

The  Strand  in  1353 — St  Mary  Rounceval — Northampton  House — Earl  of 
Surrey,  the!  Poet — Suffolk  House — Suckling's  Ballade  upon  a  Wedding 
— Algernon  Percy,  Earl  of  Northumberland — The  Restoration 
planned  at  Northumberland  House — Lady  Elizabeth  Percy — Her 
Romantic  Marriages — Murder  of  "Tom  of  Ten  Thousand" — The 
"Proud"  Duke  of  Somerset — Edwin  and  Angelina — Goldsmith  at 
Northumberland  House — Fire  Here — Dr  Percy's  Library  saved — 
The  Famous  Lion — Demolition  of  the  House — The  Duke's  Lament 
— Northumberland  Avenue — Craven  Street — Benjamin  Franklin — 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds— Heinrich  Heine — The  Author  of  Rejected 
Addresses — J.  S.  Clarke 249-272 


APPENDIX 


Samuel  Pepys  and  the  Adelphi 
Hannah  More  and  Garrick's  Funeral 


273-284 
284-285 


INDEX 


286-294 


List  of  Illustrations 


The  Terrace,  York  Buildings,  Adelphi  ....  Frontispiece 

TO  FACE  PAGE 

The  Adelphi  (Durham  Yard  and   the  New  Exchange)   and    Charing 

Cross  in  1755 8 

Durham  House.     Salisbury  House.     Worcester  House          ...  16 

The  New  Exchange,  Strand         ........  24 

"The  Buildings  called  the  Adelphi,"  1777 32 

The  Society  of  Arts,  John  Street,  Adelphi 40 

Garrick's  House,  5  Adelphi  Terrace      . 56 

Adam  Street,  Adelphi 64 

Adelphi  Terrace  in  Garrick's  Time        .......  72 

The  Thames,  from  the  Water  Works,  York  Buildings,  Adelphi     .         .  80 

York  Stairs  and  the  Water  Tower 88 

The  Society  of  Arts  distributing  its  Awards 96 

The  Strand  Entrance  to  Durham  Yard 104 

Ivy  Lane,  Strand  (the  boundary  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  and  the 

City  of  Westminster)     .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .112 

Entrance  to  the  Adelphi  Arches   .         . 120 

The  Fox-under-the-Hill 128 

York  House,  York  Stairs,  and  Durham  House 136 

York  Stairs  and  Water  Works      . 152 

Pepys'  Library,  Buckingham  Street,  Adelphi 160 

St  Mary  Rounceval,  the  Original  Site  of  Northumberland  House  .         .  168 
Suffolk  (subsequently  Northumberland)  House      .         .         .         .         .176 

The  Strand  Front  of  Northumberland  House  in  1752    ....  184 

Northumberland  House,  from  the  Gardens   ......  208 

The  Ball-room,  Northumberland  House        ......  224 

The  Drawing-room,  Northumberland  House         .....  240 

Charing  Cross,  before  the  building  of  Northumberland  Avenue      .         .  256 

The  Lion,  Northumberland  House 272 


XI 


- 


MRT.FTSHER   UNWIN, 
OHDtWHCC  SURVEY  MAP  HEFT 
INDIAN  BOVWNHatT  -**■ 

.  _    -*.***>  PUBUCAJIONS. 


H   Mir 


•*■ 


AN    ADAM    DOOR. 


The  Literary  History  of  the 
Adelphi  and  its  Neighbourhood 


CHAPTER  I 

Anthony  Bek,  Bishop  of  Durham — The  Papal  Legate  and  the 
Oxford  Clergy — Henry  III.  and  the  Earl  of  Leicester — 
Prince  Henry — The  Author  of  Philobiblon — Edward  III. — 
Thomas  Hatfield  —  Henry  VIII.— Cuthbert  Tunstall— 
Cranmer  at  Durham  House — Anne  Boleyn — Henry  VIII. 
and  Anne  of  Cleves  feast  at  Durham  House — Dudley,  Duke 
of  Northumberland — Lady  Jane  Grey — Queen  Mary — 
Queen  Elizabeth — Philip  Sidney — Sir  Walter  Raleigh — 
Elizabeth  Throgmorton — Glanville  v.  Courtney — Thomas 
Egerton — Fire  at  Durham  House — Raleigh  and  his  Pipe. 

It  is  my  pleasant  duty  to  relate  in  these  pages  the 

romantic  story  of  kings  and  queens,  of  prelates  and 

princes,  of  book- writers  and  book-sellers,  of  artists, 

architects,  and  actors,  and  of  other  players  on  life's 

fitful  stage  who,  for  six  centuries  and  a  half,  have 

contributed  to  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters 

in  the  history  of  London.     Within  that  small  space 

which  has  been  known  as  the  Adelphi  since  1772, 

a  district  so  confined  that  it  is  contained  within 

five   hundred   square    yards,   came,   in   its   earlier 

1  1 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

years,  several  bishops  and  other  clerical  dignitaries, 
then  that  prince  who  was  afterwards  the  fifth  King 
Henry  of  England,  anon,  amid  much  pomp  and 
pageantry,  King  Henry  VIII.  Queen  Mary  and 
Queen  Elizabeth  were  familiar  with  it,  and  here 
lived,  for  twenty  years,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who 
inhabited  one  of  the  towers  which  is  seen  in 
Hollar's  engraving  of  Durham  House.  Lady  Jane 
Grey  went  hence  to  the  Tower  and  thence  to  the 
scaffold.  Dryden  alluded  to  it  in  one  of  his  plays. 
Voltaire  drank  wine  here,  and  its  memory  is 
hallowed  by  Dr  Johnson,  Oliver  Goldsmith,  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,  and  a  host  of  other  celebrities. 
Here  David  Garrick  began  his  career,  and  here, 
curiously  enough,  he  ended  it,  the  funeral  pro- 
cession of  the  "poor  player"  reaching  from  the 
Adelphi  to  Westminster  Abbey,  those  who 
followed  him  to  the  grave  numbering  many  men 
of  rank  and  genius,  including  Johnson,  and  a  large 
concourse  of  the  general  public  who  grieved  for 
the  loss  of  the  great  actor. 

The  history  of  the  world-famous  banking  firm 
of  Coutts  &  Co.  is  indelibly  associated  with  the 
Adelphi.  Dickens,  when  a  boy,  prowled  about 
its  dark  arches  —  until  lately,  one  of  the  most 
degraded  spots  in  London — and  last,  though  not 
least,  the  brothers  Adam,  to  whom  London  owes 
several  architectural  triumphs,  in  addition  to  the 

Adelphi,  claim  our  attention.  It  is  said  that  at 
2 


DURHAM  HOUSE 

a  public  dinner,  at  the  beginning  of  the  last 
century,  a  worthy  alderman  whose  knowledge  of 
Greek  was  very  vague,  was  much  struck  by  the 
toast,  in  reference  to  two  royal  brothers — George 
IV.  and  the  Duke  of  York— of  "the  Adelphi."  x 
When  it  came  to  the  alderman's  turn  to  speak, 
he  said  that,  as  they  were  on  the  subject  of 
streets,  he  would  "  beg  leave  to  propose  '  Finsbury 
Square.' !  In  somewhat  similar  manner,  before  we 
get  to  the  Adelphi,  we  must  go  back  to  its  origin, 
and  this  takes  us  to  the  thirteenth  century. 

Durham  House,  which,  with  its  grounds, 
formerly  occupied  the  entire  site  of  the  Adelphi, 
was  the  town  residence  of  Anthony  Bek  (otherwise 
Anthony  de  Beck  or  Bee),  Bishop  of  Durham  in 
the  reign  of  Edward  I.  So  it  is  affirmed  by 
Pennant,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the 
assertion.  Some  mistakes  have  arisen  on  this 
point,  in  consequence,  as  it  appears  to  me,  of  there 
having  been  two  men  of  the  same  name,  both  of 
whom  were  bishops.  Their  ancestor,  Walter  Bek, 
came  to  England  with  William  the  Conqueror, 
and  from  his  three  sons  sprang  three  great 
Lincolnshire  families :  Bek  of  Eresby,  Bek  of 
Luceby,  and  Bek  of  Botheby.  Now,  Bishop 
Antony    Bek    the    second    (1279-1343),    son     of 

1  From  the  builders  of  the  Adelphi,  the  brothers  Adam,  who 
adopted  the  meaning  of  the  Greek  word,  dScA^ot,  for  their 
great  work.  Prior  to  this,  however,  Robert  and  James  Adam 
had  signed  their  architectural  drawings  "Adelphi." 

3 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Walter  Bek  of  Luceby,  constable  of  Lincoln 
Castle,  was  at  one  time  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  and, 
in  1337,  Bishop  of  Norwich.  But  Antony  Bek, 
son  of  Walter  Bek,  baron  of  Eresby,  was  appointed 
to  the  see  of  Durham  in  1283.  He  was  intimately 
associated  with  Edward  I.,  being  one  of  his  chief 
advisers  during  the  negotiations  regarding  Baliol, 
and  of  great  assistance  to  him  in  his  Scottish 
expeditions  of  1296  and  1298.  Owing  to  a  dispute 
with  the  prior  of  the  convent  of  Durham,  he  was 
deprived  of  certain  of  his  rights  by  the  king  (but 
regained  them  on  application  to  the  Pope).  As 
this,  however,  occurred  in  the  year  1300,  it  may 
safely  be  assumed  that  Antony  Bek  had  occupied 
Durham  House  before  that  event. 

But  there  was  a  Durham  House  even  earlier  than 
this  of  Antony  Bek's,  if  we  are  to  credit  an  account 
given  by  Thomas  Fuller.  Here,  in  1238,  the 
papal  legate,  Otho,  was  staying,  and  hither  he 
summoned  the  English  bishops  in  order  to  debate 
as  to  what  "  further  steps  should  be  taken  respect- 
ing the  churches  and  schools  of  Oxford,  which  he 
had  laid  under  interdict  on  account  of  the  scholars 
having,  when  the  legate  was  staying  at  Oseney, 
killed  his  brother  and  clerk  of  the  kitchen  in  an 
affray," x  the  legate  himself  being  obliged  to  fly  from 
the  city.  At  the  intercession  of  the  bishops,  the 
legate  assented  to  pardon  the  university  on  con- 

1  London  Past  and  Present,  vol.  i.,  p.  540. 
4 


HENRY  III. 

dition  of  the  clergy  and  scholars  making  their 
"solemn  submission"  to  him.  As  a  result,  the 
offenders  "went  from  St  Paul's  in  London  to 
Durham  House  in  the  Strand,  no  short  Italian, 
but  an  English  long,  mile,  all  on  foot ;  the  bishops 
of  England,  for  the  more  state  of  the  business, 
accompanying  them,  as  partly  accessory  to  their 
fault,  for  pleading  on  their  behalf.  When  they 
came  to  the  Bishop  of  Carlisle's  house,  the  scholars 
went  the  rest  of  the  way  barefoot,  sine  capis  et 
mantulis,  which  some  understand,  'without  capes 
or  cloaks.'  And  thus  the  great  legate  at  last  was 
really  reconciled  to  them."1 

Some  of  these  old  chronicles  are  not  always  to 
be  relied  upon  in  the  matter  of  dates  :  "  This  howse 
called  Durham,  or  Dunelme  Howse,  was  buylded 
in  the  time  of  Henry  3,  by  one  Antonye  Becke, 
B.  of  Durham.  It  is  a  howse  of  300  years 
antiquitie ;  the  hall  whereof  is  statelie  and  high, 
supported  with  lofty  marble  pillars.  It  standeth  on 
the  Thamise  veriye  pleasantlie."  So  wrote  one 
historian  in  1593.  But  Henry  III.  died  in  1272, 
eleven  years  before  Bek  was  made  Bishop  of 
Durham.  That  there  was  a  Durham  House  of 
sorts  before  Bek's  time  is  pretty  certain,  although 
it  was  not  the  one  that  is  attributed  to  that  bishop. 
The  story  has  often  been  told  of  Henry  III.,  in 
1258,  being  caught  in  a  thunderstorm  on  his  way 

1  Thomas  Fuller,  Church  History,  B.  III.,  cent,  xiii.,  p.  20. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

down  the  Thames  on  his  barge.  At  that  time, 
the  Earl  of  Leicester  was  the  head  of  the  barons 
who  were  opposed  to  the  king,  and  it  is  said  that 
he  was  then  in  occupation  of  Durham  House  (we 
have  already  seen  that  the  papal  legate  was 
installed  there  twenty  years  earlier).  Be  this  as 
it  may,  the  king  sought  shelter  from  the  storm, 
and,  as  the  royal  barge  approached  the  shore,  the 
Earl  of  Leicester  went  forth  and  endeavoured  to 
allay  any  fears  that  the  king  might  have  felt, 
saying,  "  Your  Majesty  need  not  be  afraid,  for  the 
tempest  is  nearly  over."  But  the  king,  being 
moved  to  wrath,  fiercely  exclaimed,  "Above 
measure,  I  dread  thunder  and  lightning,  but,  by 
the  head  of  God,  I  am  more  in  terror  of  thee  than 
of  all  the  thunder  and  lightning  in  the  world." 
Though  this  story  may  be  doubted,  one  early  royal 
memory  of  Durham  House  is  that  of  Prince  Henry 
(Henry  V.),  who,  in  1411,  "lay  at  the  bysshoppes 
inne  of  Darham  for  the  seid  day  of  his  comming 
to  towne  unto  the  Moneday  nest  after  the  feste 
of  Septem  fratum." 1 

That  most  correct  of  London  historians,  John 
Stow,  sets  down  the  fourteenth  century  as  the  date 
of  Durham  House.  "  On  the  south  side  of  which 
street "  (meaning  the  Strand,  which  had  no  name 
in  Stow's  time),  he  says,  "  in  the  liberties  of 
Westminster   (beginning   at    Ivy   Bridge),  first   is 

1  Nicolas,  Chronicle  of  London,  p.  941- 
6 


THE  PAPAL  LEGATE 

Durham  House,  built  by  Thomas  Hatfield,  Bishop 
of  Durham,  who  was  made  bishop  of  that  see 
in  1345,  and  sat  bishop  there  thirty-six  years." 
But  we  have  already  seen  from  Fuller,  whose 
Church  History  of  Britain — from  which  the  quota- 
tion in  regard  to  the  papal  legate,  Otho,  is  taken 
— was  written  in  1655,  fifty  years  after  Stow's 
death,  that  there  was  a  Durham  House  in  1238. 

And  this  brings  me  to  a  curious  point.  Thomas 
Pennant,  whose  Account  of  London  affords  much 
entertaining  reading,  has  an  amusing  disquisition 
on  the  word  "  palace."  He  writes  :  "  That  the  word 
is  only  applicable  to  the  habitations  of  princes,  or 
princely  persons,  and  that  it  is  with  all  the  im- 
propriety of  vanity  bestowed  on  the  houses  of 
those  who  have  luckily  acquired  money  enough  to 
pile  on  one  another  a  greater  quantity  of  stones 
and  bricks  than  their  neighbours.  How  many 
imaginary  Parks  have  been  formed  within  precincts 
where  deer  were  never  seen  !  and  how  many  houses 
misnamed  Halls  which  never  had  attached  to  them 
the  privilege  of  a  manor ! "  Leigh  Hunt  took  the 
"  lively  Pennant,"  as  he  dubs  him,  to  task  on  this 
point :  "  Unless  the  words  palazzo  and  piazza  are 
traceable  to  the  same  root,  palatiuin  (as  perhaps 
they  are),  place  does  not  of  necessity  mean  palace  ; 
and  palace  certainly  does  not  mean  exclusively 
the  habitation  of  princes  and  princely  persons 
(that  is  to  say,  supposing  princeliness  to  exclude 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

riches),  for  in  Italy,  whence  it  comes,  any  large 
mansion  may  be  called  a  palace ;  and  many  old 
palaces  there  were  built  by  merchants." *  But  the 
disquisition  does  not  really  alter  the  fact  that  the 
proper  name,  that  is  to  say,  the  original  one,  should 
be  Durham  House ;  we  have  the  excellent  authority 
of  Stow  and  Fuller  on  this  head.  The  residences 
in  London  of  the  bishops  were  almost  invariably 
called  "  House  " — certainly  not  "  palace."  Thus, 
Worcester  House,  which  is  now  marked  by  the 
Savoy,  originally  belonged  to  the  see  of  Carlisle, 
and  is  "  the  Bishop  of  Carlisle's  House "  which  is 
alluded  to  in  the  extract  from  Fuller.  York 
House,  which  stood  to  the  west  of  Durham  House, 
was  originally  the  town  inn  or  residence  of  the 
Bishop  of  Norwich,  and,  subsequently,  in  Queen 
Mary's  reign,  of  Heath,  Archbishop  of  York.  In 
the  Aggas  map  of  London  in  1563,  which  is 
the  frontispiece  to  Pennant's  "  Account,"  Duresme 
Place  and  York  Place  are  given,  but  that  the  name 
in  its  earlier  years  was  Durham  House  there  is 
no  doubt.  The  London  County  Council  has  lately 
(1906)  perpetuated  the  name  by  changing  Durham 
Street  to  Durham  House  Street. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  the  literary  inhabitants  of 
Durham  House  was  the  learned  Richard  de  Bury 
(1281-1345),  son  of  Sir  Richard  Aungerville.  He 
was  tutor  to  Edward  III.,  when  Prince  of  Wales, 

1   The  Town,  ed.  1859,  p.  177. 
8 


X 
H 


THOMAS  HATFIELD 

and,  subsequently,  was  of  the  king's  household. 
He  was  Dean  of  Wells  and  Bishop  of  Durham  in 
1333,  lord  chancellor  from  September  1334  to  July 
1335,  and  lord  high  treasurer  in  1337.  He  was 
employed  by  the  king  in  Paris  and  in  Hainault 
in  1336,  and,  in  1337  and  1342,  in  Scotland.  It 
is  pleasant  to  think  that  he  wrote  his  Philobiblon 
during  his  residence  by  the  Thames.  At  any  rate, 
we  may  be  sure  that  so  learned  and  so  useful  a 
man,  one  who  had  the  confidence  of  the  king  for 
so  long,  was  visited  here  by  Edward  III. 

Another  name  of  note  associated  with  Durham 
House  is  that  of  Thomas  Hatfield,  already  alluded 
to  by  Stow  as  having  built  that  structure.  He 
probably  added  to  it,  or  he  may  have  rebuilt  it. 
He  was  a  great  prelate,  and,  in  addition  to  the 
bishopric  of  Durham,  which  he  held  from  1345 
until  his  death  in  1381,  he  was  made  keeper  of 
the  Privy  Seal  in  1343,  and,  in  1346  and  1355, 
he  accompanied  Edward  III.  to  France.  In 
Durham,  he  built  part  of  the  south  side  of  the 
cathedral  choir  and  the  hall  of  the  castle,  hence, 
possibly,  the  credit  given  to  him  by  Stow  of 
building  the  Thames-side  Durham  House.  His 
learned  Survey  of  Durham  was  edited  by  the 
Rev.  William  Greenwell  in  1856. 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  the  joyous  days  of  Prince 
Henry  to  the  turbulent  times  of  Henry  VIII., 
but  the  old  chronicles  do  not  contain  any  mention 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

of  Durham  House  during  that  lengthy  period.     In 

the  reign  of  the  latter  king,  the  then  Bishop  of 

Durham  "  conveyed  the  house  to  the  King  in  fee  "  ; 

in  other  words,  the  noble  Henry  appropriated  the 

property   to   his   own   uses.     He   had   the   saving 

grace,  however,  to  give  to  the  see  of  Durham,  in 

exchange,   some    houses    in    Cold    Harbour   (now 

marked  by  Upper  Thames  Street),  and  elsewhere. 

The  exact  date  of  the  transfer  is  unknown.     The 

history  of  this  bishop,  who  was  made  to  surrender 

Durham  House  to  King  Henry,  is  curious.     Cuth- 

bert  Tunstall,  or  Tonstall,  was  Master  of  the  Rolls, 

and    bishop    successively  of  London  and  Durham. 

Extolled    by    Erasmus,    and    the    friend    of    Sir 

Thomas  More,  he  was  learned  in  Greek,  Hebrew, 

mathematics,   and   civil  law.     Harrow-on-the-Hill 

had  him   for  rector   in  1511,    he   was   prebendary 

of  Lincoln  in  1514,  archdeacon  of  Chester  in  the 

year  following,  ambassador  to  the  Prince  of  Castile 

at   Brussels,    1515-1516,    Master  of  the   Rolls   in 

1516,  prebendary  of  York  in  1519,  and  ambassador 

to  Charles  V.  in  1519,  and  again  in  1525.     He  was 

Bishop  of  London  from  1522-1530,  keeper  of  the 

privy  seal  in  1523,  and  Bishop  of  Durham  in  1530. 

It    must    have   been   after  the    latter   year    that 

he   transferred   Durham    House  to   Henry  VIII. 

Accused   of  inciting    to   rebellion,    1550,   he   was 

deprived  of  his  bishopric  of  Durham  by  Edward 

VI.,   in    1552.     Queen    Mary,   however,   restored 
10 


CRANMER 

him  immediately  on  her  accession,  and  he  remained 
in  possession  of  Durham  House — which  Mary 
had  also  restored  to  the  see — until,  in  the  year  of 
his  death,  1559,  he  was  again  deprived  by  Queen 
Elizabeth,  to  whom  he  had  refused  the  oath  of 
supremacy. 

A  very  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of 
Durham  House  came  into  existence,  thanks  to 
its  acquisition  by  Henry  VIII.,  who  granted  it  to 
the  Earl  of  Wiltshire  (1477-1539),  Thomas  Boleyn, 
father  of  Queen  Anne  Boleyn.  It  is  not  impos- 
sible that  the  Earl  of  Wiltshire  was  in  occupation 
of  Durham  House  during  the  childhood  of  his 
daughter :  at  any  rate,  it  is  certain  that  Anne's 
daughter,  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  afterwards  Queen, 
resided  here. 

Through  Henry  VIII.  we  get  a  glimpse  of 
Cranmer  at  Durham  House,  for  that  worthy  wrote 
to  the  Earl  of  Wiltshire  bidding  him  "  let  Doctor 
Cranmer  have  entertainment  in  your  house  at 
Durham  Place  for  a  time,  to  the  intent  he  may  bee 
there  quiet  to  accomplish  my  request,  and  let  him 
lack  neither  bookes,  ne  anything  requisite  for  his 
studies."1  Cranmer  attended  the  Earl  of  Wilt- 
shire as  ambassador  to  Charles  V.  in  1530,  and  it 
is  probable  that  he  lodged  in  Durham  House  in 
1533,  for  in  that  year  he  returned  to  England, 
gave    formal    sentence    of  the   invalidity   of  the 

1  Fox,  ed.  1597,  p.  1689. 

11 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

king's  marriage   with   Catharine   of  Aragon,   and 

pronounced   King   Henry's   marriage    with   Anne 

Boleyn  to  be  lawful.     So  that  it  is  easy  to  imagine 

that    the    king's   "request"    occupied    Cranmer's 

thoughts  at  Durham  House,  and  that  Henry  came 

here  in  order  to  confer  with  him. 

That   Henry   VIII.  was  familiar  with  Durham 

House   there  is   no   room   for   doubt,  for,  as   the 

pious   chronicler,    Stow,  quaintly  puts  it,  "in  the 

year  of  Christ  1540,"  that  being  the  thirty-second 

year  of  Henry's  reign,  "  on  May-day,  a  great  and 

triumphant  jousting  was  holden  at  Westminster, 

which   had   been  formerly  proclaimed  in   France, 

Flanders,  Scotland,  and  Spain,  for  all  comers  that 

would  undertake  the  challengers  of  England ;  which 

were,  Sir  John  Dudley,  Sir  Thomas  Seymour,  Sir 

Thomas  Ponings,  and  Sir  George  Carew,  knights, 

and   Anthony   Kingston   and   Richard   Cromwell, 

esquires ;   all   which   came  into  the  lists  that  day 

richly   apparelled,  and  their   horses  trapped  all  in 

white  velvet.     There  came  against  them  the  said 

day  forty-six  defendants  or  undertakers — viz.,  the 

Earl  of  Surrey,  foremost,  Lord  William  Howard, 

Lord  Clinton,  and  Lord  Cromwell,  son  and  heir  to 

Thomas  Cromwell,  Earl  of  Essex,  and  chamberlain 

of  England,  with  other;   and  that  day,  after   the 

jousts   performed,  the   challengers  rode   unto  this 

Durham  House,  where  they  kept  open  household, 

and  feasted  the  King  and  Queen,  with  her  ladies, 
12 


HENRY  VI1T. 

and  all  the  court.  The  second  day  Anthony 
Kingston  and  Richard  Cromwell  were  made  knights 
there.  The  third  day  of  May  the  said  challengers 
did  tourney  on  horseback  with  swords,  and  against 
them  came  forty-nine  defendants — Sir  John  Dudley 
and  the  Earl  of  Surrey  running  first,  which  at  the 
first  course  lost  their  gauntlets ;  and  that  day  Sir 
Richard  Cromwell  overthrew  Master  Palmer  and 
his  horse  in  the  field,  to  the  great  honour  of  the 
challengers.  The  fifth  of  May  the  challengers 
fought  on  foot  at  the  barriers,  and  against  them 
came  fifty  defendants,  which  fought  valiantly  ;  but 
Sir  Richard  Cromwell  overthrew  that  day  at  the 
barriers  Master  Culpepper  in  the  field  ;  and  the 
sixth  day  the  challengers  brake  up  their  house- 
hold. In  this  time  of  their  housekeeping  they  had 
not  only  feasted  the  king,  queen,  ladies,  and  all  the 
court,  as  it  is  afore  showed,  but  also  they  cheered 
all  the  knights  and  burgesses  of  the  common  house 
in  the  parliament,  and  entertained  the  Mayor  of 
London,  with  the  aldermen  and  their  wives,  at 
a  dinner,  etc.  The  king  gave  to  every  of  the 
said  challengers  and  their  heirs  for  ever,  in  reward 
of  their  valiant  activity,  one  hundred  marks  and  a 
house  to  dwell  in,  of  yearly  revenue,  out  of  the 
lands  pertaining  to  the  hospital  of  St  John  of 
Jerusalem,  which  he  had  confiscated." 

From  the  merry-makings  of  "  bluff  King  Hal " 

we  turn  to  the  more  sober  employment  of  Durham 

13 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

House.  Here,  in  1550,  were  lodged  the  French 
ambassador  to  Edward  VI.,  Mons  de  Chastillon, 
and  his  colleagues,  the  house  being  "  furnished  with 
hangings  of  the  kings  for  the  nonce."  In  this  year, 
also,  Edward  VI.  granted  Durham  House  for  life, 
or  until  she  was  otherwise  advanced,  to  the  Lady 
Elizabeth,  afterwards  Queen  Elizabeth  ;  but,  "  in 
some  way,  it  passed  from  the  Princess  to  Dudley, 
Duke  of  Northumberland,  and  was  the  principal 
London  house  when  Edward  VI.  died."  I  do  not 
think  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  account  for  the 
transition.  During  the  short  reign  of  Edward  VI., 
we  find  it  stated  in  Pennant  that  "  the  mint  was 
established  in  this  house,  under  the  management  of 
Sir  William  Sharrington,  and  the  influence  of  the 
aspiring  Thomas  Seymour,  lord  admiral.  Here  he 
proposed  to  have  money  enough  coined  to  accom- 
plish his  designs  on  the  throne.  His  practices  were 
detected,  and  he  suffered  death.  His  tool  was 
also  condemned  ;  but,  sacrificing  his  master  to  his 
own  safety,  received  a  pardon,  and  was  again  em- 
ployed under  the  administration  of  John  Dudley, 
Earl  of  Northumberland." 

This,  I  must  confess,  is  a  trifle  vague.  Sir 
William  Sharington,  or  Sherington — Pennant's 
Sharrington — vice-treasurer  of  the  mint  at  Bristol, 
assisted  in  the  plots  of  Thomas  Seymour,  baron 
Seymour  of  Sudeley,  and  was  arrested  and  attainted, 

but  subsequently  pardoned.  He  was  sheriff  of 
14 


LADY  JANE  GREY 

Wiltshire  in  1552,  and  he  died  in  1553.     Seymour 

was  found  guilty  of  treason  and  executed  in  1549, 

the  second   year  of  King  Edward  VI.     Is  it  not 

possible  that  the  Duke  of  Northumberland  received 

Durham  House  in  reward  for  his  discovery  there 

of  the  illegal  mint  ?     Be  this  as  it  may,  it  certainly 

was  the  residence  of  John  Dudley  in  May,  1553 — 

the  year  of  Edward's  death.     To  quote  once  more 

from   Pennant :  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  in 

the   month  mentioned,  "in  this  palace,  caused  to 

be    solemnised,    with    great    magnificence,    three 

marriages — his  son,  Lord  Guildford  Dudley,  with 

the  amiable  Lady  Jane  Grey ;  Lord  Herbert,  heir 

to  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  with  Catherine,  younger 

sister  of  Lady  Jane  ;  and  Lord  Hastings,  heir  to  the 

Earl  of  Huntingdon,  with  his  youngest  daughter, 

Lady  Catherine  Dudley.     From  hence  he  dragged 

the  reluctant   victim,   his  daughter-in-law,  to  the 

Tower,   there   to  be  invested  with   regal   dignity. 

In  eight  short  months  his  ambition  led  the  sweet 

innocent  to  the  nuptial   bed,  the  throne,  and  the 

scaffold."     It  is,  indeed,  sad  to  think  of  the  marriage 

rejoicings  of  Durham  House  turned  so  speedily  and 

so  sadly  into   the  sojourn  in  the  dreaded  Tower 

and  the  execution  of  the  bride-queen  of  seventeen 

summers. 

On  the  accession  of  Mary,  Durham  House  was 

restored  to  Bishop  Tunstall,  but  Queen  Elizabeth 

acquired  it  in  1559,  the  year  of  Tunstall's  death. 

15 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

"  The  queen,"  said  Bishop  Goodman  (1583-1656), 
in  his  Court  of  James  I,  "did  not  spare  Cuthbert 
Tunstal,  Bishop  of  Durham,  though  some  will  not 
stick  to  say  that  he  was  her  god-father  ;  which,  if 
he  were  not,  it  is  most  certain  that  he  was  then 
present  and  did  officiate  at  her  christening.  But  I 
think  he  was  her  god-father,  because  I  am  certain 
he  gave  her  Durham  House  in  the  Strand  to  dwell 
in,  which  she  kept  during  her  life,  and  did  not 
restore  it  to  his  successors,  but  suffered  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  to  live  there.  I  remember  when  the  Bishop 
of  Durham  in  the  queen's  time  came  up  to  Parlia- 
ment, he  was  fain  to  hire  my  schoolmaster's  house  " 
(Camden's)  "  in  Westminster  to  lodge  in."  It  is  a 
pity  that  we  cannot  agree  with  Goodman  on  this 
point,  but,  at  the  time  of  Elizabeth's  christening, 
1533,  Tunstall  was  faithful  to  the  Catholic  dogma. 
It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  Shakespeare  makes  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Cranmer,  pronounce 
the  blessing  on  the  infant  Elizabeth  in  King 
Henry  VIII. 

From  Queen  Elizabeth  we  obtain  a  picture 
of  two  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  literary 
occupants  of  Durham  House — Philip  Sidney  and 
Walter  Raleigh.  In  March,  1567-1568,  Sir  Henry 
Sidney  writes  from  it  to  Archbishop  Parker  for 
permission  to  eat  meat  in  Lent  for  "  my  boy  Philip 
Sidney,  who  is  somewhat  subject  to  sickness."     The 

future  soldier,  statesman,  and  poet  was  then  but  a 
16 


J.  \  1 


•*. 


o 

X 


u 


en 


x 

X 


SIR  WALTER  RALEIGH 

child  of  thirteen,  and  his  presence  there  is  one  of 
the  treasured  memories  of  Durham  House. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  was  given  the  use  of  Durham 
House  in  1583,  and  he  held  it  until  his  fall  from 
favour  in  1603.  A  picturesque  glimpse  of  him  is 
afforded  by  Aubrey,  the  antiquary,  who,  although 
he  was  not  born  until  eight  years  after  Raleigh's 
death,  knew  the  Durham  House  of  that  period. 
It  was  "  a  noble  palace,"  he  says.  "  After  he  " 
(Raleigh)  "  came  to  his  greatness,  he  lived  there,  or 
in  some  apartment  of  it.  I  well  remember  his 
study,  which  was  on  a  little  turret  that  looked  into 
and  over  the  Thames,  and  had  the  prospect  which 
is  as  pleasant  perhaps  as  any  in  the  world." *  Many 
a  time  and  oft  did  the  young  favourite  of  the  queen 
set  out  from  Durham  House,  by  water,  for  the 
court  of  Elizabeth,  and  it  is  not  inconceivable  that 
Elizabeth,  in  her  royal  barge,  should  have  journeyed 
on  more  than  one  occasion  from  her  palace  at  West- 
minster to  Raleigh's  residence  on  the  Thames. 
For,  during  his  early  years  here,  Raleigh  was  in  high 
favour.  Then  there  came  the  influence  of  the  new 
favourite,  Essex,  Raleigh's  intrigue  with  Elizabeth 
Throgmorton,  the  queen's  jealousy,  and  his  com- 
mitment to  the  Tower.  He  then  settled  at  Sher- 
bonne,  and  in  1595,  1596,  and  1597,  he  was  abroad 
on  various  expeditions.  But  he  appears  to  have 
retained  possession  of  Durham  House  until  the  end 

1  Aubrey,  vol.  iii.,  p.  513. 

2  17 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

of  Elizabeth's  reign — 1603.  In  that  year  Tobias 
Mathew,  the  then  Bishop  of  Durham,  set  forth  the 
claim  of  his  see  to  the  place,  and  Raleigh,  in  a 
letter  of  remonstrance,  states  that  he  had  been  in 
possession  of  the  house  for  about  twenty  years,  and 
that  he  had  expended  some  two  thousand  pounds 
upon  it,  out  of  his  own  purse.  But  James  I. 
and  the  Council,  on  May  25  of  that  year,  recog- 
nised the  right  of  the  see  of  Durham,  and  restored 
the  house  to  the  successors  of  Bishop  Hatfield. 

Raleigh's  letter,  directed  "  to  the  Right  Honor- 
abell  my  verie  good  Lords,  the  Lorde  Keeper 
of  the  Great  Seale  and  my  Lorde  Chiefe  Justice 
of  Ingland,  and  to  my  verie  good  friende,  His 
Majesties  Atturney  Generall,"  is  as  follows : — "  I 
received  a  warrant  from  your  lordships,  my  Lorde 
Keeper  and  my  Lorde  Chiefe  Justice,  and  signed 
also  by  Mr  Atturney  Generall,  requiringe  me  to 
deliver  the  possession  of  Deram  House  to  the 
Byshoppe  of  Deram  or  to  his  Atturney  before  the 
xxiiiith  day  of  June  next  insuing,  and  that  the 
stabells  and  gardens  should  be  presentlie  putt  into 
his  hands.  .  .  .  This  letter  seemeth  to  me  verie 
strange,  seeinge  I  have  had  the  possession  of  the 
house  almost  xx  yeares,  and  have  bestowed  well 
neare  2000  L.  uppon  the  same  out  of  myne  owne 
purse.  I  am  of  opinion  that  if  the  King's  Majestye 
had  recovered  this  house,  or  the  like,  from   the 

meanest  gentleman  and  sarvannt  hee  had  in  Ing- 
18 


BARON  ELLESMERE 

lande,  that  His  Majestye  would  have  geven  six 
monenths  tyme  for  the  avoydance,  and  I  doo  not 
know  but  the  poorest  artificer  in  London  hath  a 
quarter's  warninge  geven  him  by  his  landlord.  I 
have  made  provision  for  40  persons  in  the  springe 
.  .  .  and  now  to  cast  out  my  hay  and  oates  into 
the  streates  att  an  hour's  warninge,  and  to  remove 
my  famyly  and  staff  in  14  dayes  after,  is  such  a 
seveare  expulsion  as  hath  not  bynn  offered  to  any 
man  before  this  daye." 

It  is  more  than  likely  that  Raleigh  wrote  several 
of  his  poems  in  Durham  House.  His  Report  of 
the  Truth  of  the  Fight  about  the  Isles  of  the 
Azores  (1591),  and  his  Discovery  of  the  Empire  of 
Guiana  (1596),  were  published  during  his  tenure  of 
Durham  House.  Raleigh  was  Lord  Warden  of  the 
Stannaries,  and,  as  such,  many  cases  were  brought 
before  him  here,  the  most  celebrated  of  them  being 
that  of  Glanville  v.  Courtney,  which  was  heard  at 
divers  stages  in  1591  and  subsequent  years,  Thomas 
Egerton  (afterwards  Baron  Ellesmere),and  Viscount 
Brackley,  lord  chancellor,  being  counsel  on  one 
occasion.  In  1600,  when  Raleigh  was  away  in 
Jersey,  where  he  had  been  appointed  governor, 
some  of  the  out-buildings  of  Durham  House  were 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  this  was  the  beginning  of 
the  end  of  the  magnificence  which  had  for  so  long 
attended  this  palace  on  Thames-side. 

Oldys,  in  his  Life  of  Raleigh,  has  described  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

"stalwart,  sour-faced"  statesman  during  his   resi- 
dence at  Durham  House,  as  attired  in  a   suit   of 
clothes  surmounted  by  jewels  to  the  value  of  six 
thousand  six  hundred  gold  pieces.     The  well-known 
story  of  Raleigh's  first  pipe  applies — if  there  is  any 
truth  in  the  legend — to  the  time  when  he  resided 
here.     In  1586,  Drake  brought  tobacco  to  England 
from  Virginia.     It  is  said  that  one  day  Raleigh's 
servant,  carrying  a  tankard  of  spiced  ale  to  Raleigh 
in   his   study  in   the   turret,  found  his  master  on 
fire,    as    he    thought,    and,    dropping    the    vessel, 
rushed  for   assistance,   shouting  that    his    master 
"  would  be  burnt  to  ashes  if  they  did  not  run  to 
his  assistance."     Another  version  is  that  the  clown 
dashed  the  ale  over  his  master's  head.     Be  this  as 
it  may,  the  early  use  of  tobacco  is  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  Durham  House,  for,  as  is  well  known, 
Raleigh  smoked  as  he  worked. 


20 


CHAPTER  II 

The  New  Exchange — The  Earl  of  Salisbury  proprietor — Opened 
by  James  I. — Popular  Allusions — The  First  Edition  of  Othello 
published  Here — Samuel  Pepys  a  Frequent  Visitor — Henry 
Herringman  —  Otway  — -  Etherege — Wy  cherley —  Dry  den — 
Addison — Durham  House  in  Decay — Acquired  by  the  Earl 
of  Pembroke — Various  Public  Offices  in  Durham  Yard — 
Charles  II.  helps  to  extinguish  a  Fire  Here — Archbishop  Le 
Tellier — Godfrey  Kneller — David  Garrick,  wine  merchant — 
Dr  Johnson — Voltaire — Murder  in  the  New  Exchange. 

Leaving  for  a  moment  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  in  his 

vain   endeavour   to   uphold  his  claim  to  Durham 

House,  let  us  glance  at  the  Strand  portion  of  the 

establishment.     It  teems  with  romance  and  literary 

interest.     The    stabling,  which   looked   upon   the 

Strand,  had   fallen   into   decay,  and,  early  in   the 

reign  of  James  I.,  it   was  converted  by  Robert, 

Lord    Salisbury,   into    the    New    Exchange.     Its 

frontage  extended  from  the  present  George  Court 

to  Durham  House  Street.     The  foundation  stone 

was  laid  on  June  10,  1608,  and,  in  the  following 

July,  as   we   find   from   the   State   Papers,  "The 

New  Burse  proceeds  apace." 

The  allusion  in  the  State  Papers  was  due  to  a 

21 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

letter  which  the  Lord  Mayor  had  written,  on  June 
30,  to  the  Lord  Treasurer,  enclosing  a  petition 
from  the  shopkeepers  of  the  Royal  Exchange 
"concerning  a  building  in  course  of  erection  at 
Durham  House  in  the  Strand,"  which  they  con- 
sidered was  meant  to  be  employed  as  "a  Pawne 
or  Exchange  for  the  sale  of  things  usually  uttered 
in  the  Royal  Exchange,  and  which,  being  situated 
near  to  Whitehall  and  in  the  highway,  would  be 
injurious  not  only  to  the  shopkeepers  and  citizens 
at  large,"  but  would  tend  to  the  destruction  of 
trade.  Another  authority  says :  "  The  new 
Bourse  at  Durham  House  goes  up  apace,  where 
the  Citizens,  and  especially  the  Exchange  men, 
begin  to  grumble  ....  and  thereupon  have  made 
a  petition  to  the  Lord  Mayor  to  provide  ne  quid 
detrimenti  republica  capiet."1  Scant  notice,  if 
any,  was  taken  of  this  petition  from  the  City, 
and  the  building  of  Britain's  Burse  proceeded  with- 
out hindrance.  The  Exchange  consisted  of  four 
separate  places :  the  Outward  Walk  below  Stairs  ; 
the  Inner  Walk  below  Stairs  ;  the  Outward  Walk 
above  Stairs ;  and  the  Inner  Walk  above  Stairs. 
Its  opening,  on  April  11,  1609,  was  graced  by 
the  presence  of  James  I.  and  his  queen,  "  when," 
according  to  Anthony  Munday,  the  poet  and  play- 
wright and  literary  executor  of  Stow,  whose  Survey 
he  produced  in  1618,  "  it  pleased  his  most  excellent 

1  Court  and  Times  of  James  I.,  Birch,  vol.  i.,  p.  75. 
22 


EARL  OF  SALISBURY 

Majesty,   because   the   work   wanted    a   name,    to 
entitle  it  Britain's  Burse." 

Stow  also  says :  "  Now  to  speak  somewhat  of 
later  time  concerning  this  Durham  House,  it  was 
well  knowne  and  observed,  for  how  many  yeers  I 
know  not,  that  the  outward  part  belonging  thereto, 
and  standing  North  from  the  houses,  was  but  a  low 
row  of  Stables,  old,  ruinous,  ready  to  fall,  and  very 
unsightly,  in  so  public  a  passage  to  the  Court  at 
Westminster.  Upon  which  consideration,  or  some 
more  especial  respect  in  the  mind  of  the  right 
honourable  Robert,  Earl  of  Salisbury,  Lord  High 
Treasurer  of  England  :  it  pleased  him  to  take  such 
order  in  the  matter,  that  (at  his  owne  cost  and 
charges),  that  deformed  row  of  Stabling  was  quite 
altered,  by  the  erection  of  a  very  goodly  and 
beautiful  building  instead  thereof,  and  in  the  very 
same  place.  Some  shape  of  the  modelling,  though 
not  in  all  respects  alike,  was  after  the  fashion  of  the 
Royall  Exchange  in  London,  with  Sellers  under- 
neath, a  walk  fairly  paved  above  it,  and  Rowes  of 
Shops  above,  as  also  one  beneath  answerable  in 
manner  to  the  other  and  intended  for  the  like 
trades  and  mysteries. 

"  The  work  was  not  long  in  the  taking  down,  nor 
in  the  erection  againe :  for  the  first  stone  was  laid 
on  the  10.  day  of  June,  1608,  and  also  was  fully 
finished   in    the    next    ensuing    November    after. 

Also,   on   Tuesday,   being  the    10.    day   of  April 

23 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

following,  divers  of  the  upper  shops  were  adorned 
in  rich  and  beautiful  manner,  with  wares  most 
curious  to  please  the  eye ;  so  ordered  against  his 
Majesties  comming  thither,  to  give  a  name  to  so 
good  a  building.  On  the  day  following,  it  pleased 
his  highnesse,  with  the  Queene,  prince,  the  Duke 
of  Yorke,  and  the  Lady  Elizabeth  to  come  thither, 
attended  on  by  many  great  Lords  and  choise  Ladies. 
Concerning  their  entertainment  there,  though  I 
was  no  eye-witnesse  thereof,  yet  I  know  the 
ingenuity  and  mind  of  the  Nobleman  to  be  such, 
as  nothing  should  want  to  welcome  so  great  an 
expectation.  And  therefore,  what  variety  of  devices, 
pleasing  speeches,  rich  gifts  and  presents  as  then 
flew  bountifully  abroad,  I  will  rather  referre  to  your 
imagination,  than  any  way  come  short  of,  by  an 
imperfect  narration.  Only  this  I  adde,  that  it  then 
pleased  his  most  excellent  Majestie,  because  the 
worke  wanted  a  name  before,  to  entitle  it  Britaines 
Bursse,  or  Busse."1 

A  most  interesting  description  of  the  Royal  visit, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  opening  of  the  Exchange, 
was  given  by  Marc'  Antonio  Correr,  the  Venetian 
Ambassador  in  England,  in  a  letter  of  May  6, 
1609,  to  the  Doge  and  Senate  of  Venice.  The 
original  document  is  preserved  in  the  Venetian 
archives,  and  the  following  is  a  translation  :  "  Hard 
by  the  Court,  the  Earl  of  Salisbury  has  built  two 

1  Stow,  ed.  1633,  pp.  494-5. 
24 


.1 


z 
< 


r. 


X 


H 


JAMES  I. 

great  galleries,  decorated,  especially  outside,  with 
much  carving  and  sculpture.  Inside  each  of  these 
galleries,  on  either  hand,  are  rows  of  shops  for  the 
sale  of  all  kinds  of  goods.  These  will  bring  in  an 
immense  revenue.  Last  month,  he  took  the  King, 
the  Queen,  and  the  Princes  to  see  them.  He  has 
fitted  up  one  of  the  shops  very  beautifully,  and  over 
it  ran  the  motto  :  •  All  other  places  give  for  money, 
here  all  is  given  for  love.'  To  the  King  he  gave  a 
Cabinet,  to  the  Queen  a  silver  plaque  of  the 
Annunciation,  worth,  they  say,  four  thousand 
crowns.  To  the  Prince,  he  gave  a  horse's  trappings 
of  great  value,  nor  was  there  any  one  of  the  Suite 
who  did  not  receive  at  the  very  least  a  gold 
ring." 

The  Exchange  is  thus  described  by  Strype  :  "  In 
the  place  where  certain  old  stables  stood  belong- 
ing to  this  house  is  the  New  Exchange,  being 
furnished  with  shops  on  both  sides  the  walls,  both 
below  and  above  stairs,  for  milleners,  sempstresses, 
and  other  trades,  that  furnish  dresses ;  and  is  a 
place  of  great  resort  and  trade  for  the  nobility 
and  gentry,  and  such  as  have  occasion  for  such 
commodities."1 

The  connection  of  the  Earl  of  Salisbury  with  the 

New  Exchange,  and,  incidentally,  with  the  Durham 

House  property,  is  somewhat  curious.     As  already 

observed,  there   had   been   a  fire   in   part   of  the 

1  Strype,  B.  VI.,  p.  75. 

25 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

buildings,  in  1600,  and,  as  Salisbury  House  was 
adjacent,  the  neighbouring  ruins  must  have  been 
an  unpleasant  prospect  for  the  "  crook-backed  "  and 
thrifty  earl.  So  he  bought  the  Strand  part  of  the 
ground  from  Sir  Tobie  Matthew  (1577-1655),  who 
had  secured  from  his  father,  Bishop  Matthew,  "  an 
interest  in  certain  outlying  portions  of  Durham 
House  and  its  purlieus,  which  was  valuable  enough 
to  be  purchased  by  Robert  Cecil,  in  the  year 
following  the  Bishop's  translation  to  York,  for  the 
sum  of  1200  L."  This  was  in  1607,  and,  in  1609, 
he  obtained  a  lease  of  the  courtyard  of  Durham 
House,  the  rest  of  the  property  remaining  in 
the  possession  of  the  see  of  Durham  until  1630. 
Cecil,  who  had  been  created  Earl  of  Salisbury  by 
James  I.  in  1605,  was  in  high  favour  with  the  King 
at  this  period,  so  that  he  was  able  to  reply  to  the 
petition  of  the  citizens  against  his  building  of 
the  Exchange  "  that  Westminster  being  the  place 
where  he  was  born  and  of  his  abode,  he  sees  not 
but  that  he  may  seek  to  benefit  and  beautify  it " 
(J.  Chamberlain  to  Dudley  Carleton).  At  the 
same  time,  he  seems  to  have  behaved  fairly  enough 
in  another  matter,  for  on  September  25,  1609,  the 
then  Bishop  of  Durham,  William  James,  wrote  to 
Thomas  Wilson,  Lord  Salisbury's  steward,  thanking 
the  Earl  for  causing  stables  to  be  built  for  him  at 
Durham  House,  and  requesting  the  delivery  of  the 
key  to  his  servant  "in  order  that  hay  and  straw 
26 


THOMAS  DUFFET 

may  be  provided  there,  against  his  coming  up  to 
Parliament." 

The  New  Exchange  was  never  a  great  rival  of 
the  old — the  Royal — Exchange,  and,  in  1623,  only 
fourteen  years  after  its  opening,  there  were  rumours 
that  it  was  to  be  converted  into  dwelling-houses. 
"  Lady  Hatton,"  it  was  stated,  "  is  said  to  have 
bought  Britain's  Burse  for  £6000,  and  means  to 
make  the  upper  part  her  dwelling-house  ;  the  lower 
part  lets  for  £320  a  year."  The  rumour  was 
wrong,  however,  for  the  place,  although  it  fell  into 
disrepute,  existed  until  nearly  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century — until,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
1737.  Its  most  flourishing  period  was  during  the 
Restoration,  when  London  had  doubled  in  popula- 
tion as  compared  with  the  reign  of  James  L,  and 
Covent  Garden  was  the  fashionable  quarter.  There 
is  hardly  a  dramatist  of  Charles  II.'s  time  whose 
works  do  not  contain  some  reference  to  it,  while 
one  of  the  playwrights,  Thomas  Duffet,  had  been 
a  milliner  in  this  very  place  before  he  took  to 
burlesquing  Dryden,  D'Avenant,  and  the  con- 
temporary writers.  The  Grand  Duke  Cosmo  gives 
an  accurate  picture  of  the  place  as  it  was  in  Charles 
TI.'s  time  :  "  We  went  to  see  the  New  Exchange, 
which  is  not  far  from  the  place  of  the  Common 
Garden,  in  the  great  street  called  the  Strand.  The 
building   has   a   facade   of   stone,    built   after   the 

Gothic  style,  which  has  lost  its  colour  from   age 

27 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

and  become  blackish.  It  contains  two  long  and 
double  galleries,  one  above  the  other,  in  which  are 
distributed,  in  several  rows,  great  numbers  of  very 
rich  shops  of  drapers  and  mercers  filled  with  goods 
of  every  kind,  and  with  manufactures  of  the  most 
beautiful  description.  These  are  for  the  most  part 
under  the  care  of  well-dressed  women,  who  are 
busily  employed  in  work,  although  many  are  served 
by  young  men  called  apprentices."1 

The  stage  has  a  great  claim  upon  the  history 
of  the  Adelphi,  not  only  by  reason  of  Garrick's 
residence  here,  but  because  the  first  edition  of 
Othello  was  published  within  its  precincts.  This 
was  in  1622,  six  years  after  Shakespeare's  death, 
and  a  year  before  the  issue  of  the  first  folio.  The 
title-page  of  this  quarto  is  as  follows : 

The 
Tragcedy  of  Othello, 
the  Moore  of  Venice. 

As  it  hath  beene  diverse  times  acted  at  the 

Globe,  and  at  the  Black  Friers,  by 

His  Maiesties  Servants. 

Written  by  William  Shakespeare. 

London, 

Printed  by  N.  O.  for  Thomas  Walkley,  and  are 

to  be  sold  at  his  shop  at  the  Eagle  and  Child, 

in  Brittans  Bursse. 

1622. 

1   Travels  of  the  Grand  Duke  Cosmo,  vol.  iii.,  p.  296. 

28 


HENRY  HERRINGMAN 

A  player  and  publisher  of  plays,  Will  Cademan, 
lived  at  the  Pope's  Head,  in  the  Lower  Walk. 
Samuel  Pepys  was  a  visitor  to  the  New  Exchange 
on  several  occasions.  On  June  22,  1668,  the 
diarist  went  to  the  King's  play-house  and  saw  "  an 
act  or  two "  of  Dryden's  comedy,  An  Evening's 
Love,  or  the  Mock  Astrologer,  but  "liked  it  not. 
Calling  this  day  at  Herringman's,  he  tells  me 
Dryden  do  himself  call  it  but  a  fifth-rate  play." 
Henry  Herringman,  who  was  the  principal  pub- 
lisher in  London  before  Jacob  Tonson,  had  his 
shop  "At  the  Sign  of  the  Blue  Anchor"  in  the 
Lower  Walk  of  the  New  Exchange.  Here,  in 
1679,  was  published  Horace's  Art  of  Poetry, 
"  made  English  "  by  the  Right  Hon.  the  Earl  of 
Roscommon.  Otway,  in  the  character  of  Mrs 
Furnish,  in  The  Atheist,  or  the  Soldiers  Fortune, 
first  acted  in  1682,  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  cries  in 
the  Upper  Walk  of  the  New  Exchange  :  "  Gloves  or 
ribands,  sir  ?  Very  good  gloves  or  ribands.  Choice 
of  fine  essences."  The  Strand  houses  near  the 
Exchange  were  let  to  "  country  gentlewomen  newly 
come  to  town,  who  loved  to  lodge  in  the  very 
centre  of  fashion."  Pert,  in  Sir  George  Etherege's 
comedy,  The  Man  oj  Mode  (1676),  says:  "That 
place  is  never  without  a  nest  of  'em.  They  are 
always,  as  one  goes  by,  glaring  in  balconies  or 
staring  out  of  windows."     In  another  play  by  the 

same  author,  She  Would  if  She  Could  (1668),  and 

29 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

The  Country  Wife  (1675)  of  Wycherley,  scenes 
are  laid  in  the  New  Exchange.  Dryden,  who  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  place,  makes  Mrs  Brain- 
sick escape  from  her  husband  by  pretending  to  call 
at  her  tailor's  here  "to  try  her  stays  for  a  new 
gown." 

Such  a  place,  in  such  an  age,  was  bound  to  de- 
teriorate. In  Addison's  day,  the  gallants  of  the 
town  spent  much  of  their  time  in  lounging  about 
the  stalls  and  indulging  in  ribald  talk.  "  I  have 
long  letters,"  he  says  in  the  Spectator,  "  both  from 
the  Royal  and  New  Exchange  on  the  "  subject  of 
the  indecent  licenses  taken  in  discourse.  "  They 
tell  me  that  a  young  Fop  cannot  buy  a  Pair  of 
Gloves,  but  he  is  at  the  same  time  straining 
for  some  Ingenious  Ribaldry  to  say  to  the  young 
Woman  who  helps  them  on.  It  is  no  small  Addi- 
tion to  the  Calamity,  that  the  Rogues  buy  as  hard 
as  the  plainest  and  modestest  Customers  they  have ; 
besides  which,  they  loll  upon  their  Counters  half  an 
Hour  longer  than  they  need,  to  drive  away  other 
Customers,  who  are  to  share  their  Impertinencies 
with  the  Milliner,  or  go  to  another  Shop." 1 

The  rules  for  the  conduct  of  the  New  Exchange 
are  very  curious.  Under  the  heading  of  Orders 
for  ye  Burse,  and  dated  November,  1609,  they 
are   printed  in  the  State  Papers.2      They  are   as 


30 


1  The  Spectator,  No.  155. 

2  Domestic,  James  I.,  vol.  xlix.,  p.  5. 


RULES  FOR  BRITAIN'S  BURSE 

follows  : — "  Imprimis  no  shop  to  be  lett  within  ye 
said  new  building  to  any  art,  trade,  science,  or 
mistery,  other  than  these  following  or  such  as  shal 
bee  noe  annoyance  to  ye  rest  of  ye  shopkeepers 
ther,  and  allowed  by  writting  under  ye  hand  of  the 
right  honble  the  Erie  of  Salisbury  lord  Treasurer 
of  England,  that  is  to  say,  Haberdashers  of  hatts, 
Haberdashers  of  smale  wares,  stockinsellers,  Linen- 
drapers,  Seamsters,  Goldsmiths  or  Juellers  but  not 
to  worke  with  hammer,  such  as  sell  china  wares, 
Milliners,  Perfumers,  Si(l)ck-mercers,  Tyremakers 
or  Hoodmakers  stationers  Booksellers  Confec- 
tioners, such  as  sell  picktures,  mapps  or  prints, 
Girdelers  &c. 

"  Item  no  shopkeeper  to  open  shop  on  Christen- 
mas  day  the  Purification  of  the  blessed  virgin 
Easter  hollidaies  Whitson-hollidaies  The  nativity 
of  S*  Jo.  Baptist  the  feast  day  of  All  saints  nor 
upon  any  sabboth  day  throughe  out  ye  whole 
yeare. 

"  Item  from  ye  25  day  of  March  till  ye  29  of 

September  the  dores  &  windowes  to  bee  opened  by 

6  in  ye  morning  &  to  bee  shut  by  8  att  night :  & 

from  ye  29  of  September  till  ye  25  of  March,  ye 

dores  to  bee  open  by  seven  in  ye  morning  and  shutt 

by  seaven   att   night.     These  houres  to  bee   duly 

kept   except   it   bee   upon  some   speciall  occasion 

agreed  on  by  the  shopkeepers,  or  ye  greater  part  of 

them. 

31 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

"  Item  my  lord  to  mentione  one  sufficient  man  of 
honest  &  good  report  to  bee  housekeeper  to  make 
cleane  &  sweepe  the  house  as  often  as  shal  be 
needfull  &  to  watch  or  keepe  some  to  watch  in  ye 
nights  &  to  see  to  the  opening  and  shutting  of  ye 
dores,  every  shopkeeper  in  ye  house  allowing  him 
2s  by  ye  yeare. 

"  Item  all  ye  dores  saving  one  to  bee  made  fast  on 
ye  Inner  syde  &  that  one  to  have  3  locks  and  3 
keyes  whereof  the  howskeeper  to  have  one  &;  the 
other  2  to  bee  kept  by  2  of  the  Tenants  quarterly 
&  they  to  see  ye  shutting  in  of  ye  house  themselves 
or  in  theyr  absence  to  appoint  some  other. 

"  These  2  men  to  be  chosen  by  ye  shopkeepers  & 
they  to  collect  ye  forfeitures  herafter  imposed  and 
mentioned. 

"  Item  a  bell  to  bee  kept  &  maintained  within  the 
said  new  building  by  the  said  Erie  &  the  same  to 
bee  rong  by  the  howskeeper  att  xj  of  ye  clock 
before  dinner  and  half  an  howre  before  ye  shop- 
keepers are  to  shutt  up  their  shops  att  night  &  att 
ye  ringing  thereof  in  ye  evening  every  one  to 
sweepe  forth  his  shop  &  then  ye  houskeeper  to 
sweepe  &  make  cleane  ye  whole  house,  upon  payne 
of  every  one  that  shall  make  default  to  forfait  4d 
for  every  default  which  shal  be  imployed  to  ye  use 
of  ye  pore,  where  and  when  ye  Tenants  of  ye  house 
shall  think  fitt. 

"  Item  a  paire  of  stocks  or  some  other  publique 
32 


■ft, 


*% 


— 


en 
V. 


RULES  FOR  BRITAIN'S  BURSE 

punishment  for  such  as  shal  be  taken  pilfering  or 
stealing  to  be  mayntained  by  the  said  Erie. 

"Item  no  man  to  forstall  his  neighbour  eyther  by 
hanging  forth  any  thing  or  setting  forth  in  his 
stalle  upon  payne  of  forfeiture  of  5s  for  every 
default  to  bee  levyd  to  ye  use  aforesaid. 

"  Item  no  man  to  call  any  man  that  is  buying  or 
selling  from  an  other  mans  stall,  or  to  pull  or  hale 
any  man  as  he  cometh  by  to  buy  or  sell  as  hee  is 
going  along  by  his  stall  upon  payne  to  forfait  for 
every  offence  15d  which  shal  be  likewise  levyd 
&  employed  to  ye  use  of  ye  poore. 

"  Item  if  any  strife  or  contention  shal  hapen  be- 
twixt any  of  the  Tenants  ye  same  to  bee  referred  to 
4  or  6  of  ye  rest  to  bee  ended  &  both  parties  to 
stand  to  their  award,  hee  that  refuseth  to  pay  for 
a  forfeiture  40*  which  shal  be  likewise  employed 
to  ye  use  afToresaid. 

"  Item  no  signe  that  shal  be  hanged  out  to  hang 
furder  out  into  ye  walk  then  another. 

"  Item   wheras  many  Maisters  are  not   resident 

there,  by  means  wherof  there  is  great  disorder  by 

servants  &  apprentizes  viz.  hunting  of  doggs  with 

greate  noise    &    howling,   playing    att    foyles    & 

cudgles    stricking  ye    balle    (which   breaketh    ye 

windowes)  buffitting  &  fighting  one  with  another, 

to  ye  greate  reproache  of  ye  place  &  hinderance  of 

traders  there,  bee  it  therfore  by  consent  of  my  lord 

&  every  one  of  us  confirmed  that  if  herafter  any 

3  33 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

servant  or  apprentize  in  any  of  the  ranges  wher 
shopps  bee  do  comitt  any  such  disorders  that  then 
the  Mr  of  such  person  or  personnes  so  offending 
shall  uppon  complaint  made  by  ye  2  houskeepers 
for  the  tyme  being  in  some  private  roome  in  the 
Burse  appointed  for  the  said  purpose  correct  or 
beate  their  said  servantes,  in  ye  presence  of  ye 
said  2  houskeepers,  or  ells  to  pay  presently  for 
every  offender  12  to  the  use  afforesaide. 

"  Item  if  any  shopkeepers  eyther  Maisters  of  (or  ?) 
Mrs  do  braule  scould  or  rayle  on  one  an  other  with 
reproachfull  words  or  speeches,  to  the  ill  example 
of  their  servants,  amazment  of  passengers  &  to  the 
greate  disgrace  of  themselves  &  thier  nieghbors 
than  then  both  &  so  many  personnes  so  offending 
shall  pay  for  every  defalt  2s  6d  ells  to  have  their 
theyr  (sic)  signe  taken  downe  by  the  2  howskeepers 
for  one  weeke  that  such  scould  or  scoulds  may  not 
be  noted  nor  the  Burse  disgraced. 

"  Item  that  if  any  do  throw  or  powre  out  into  the 
walk  or  range  or  outt  att  any  of  the  windowes  any 
noysome  thing  &c.  that  then  that  person  so 
offending  shall  pay  for  every  default  xijd  if  it  bee 
a  servant  then  to  have  correction  as  afforesaid  or 
theyr  Mr  or  Mrs  to  pay  6d  for  theyr  default. 

"  Item  that  all  and  every  shopkeeper  shall  sub- 
scrib  to  these  orders  that  for  the  good  of  the 
house  they  may  be  performed  without  partiallity, 

and  that  some  course  may  bee  to  force  the  breakers 

34 


THE  SEE  OF  DURHAM 

of  them  to  pay  theyr  fynes  wee  humbly  entreate 
may  be  taken. 

"  Item  if  any  sell  or  offer  to  sell  any  ware  in  the 
howse  except  it  bee  to  a  shopkeeper  the  same 
party  so  offending  to  bee  sett  in  the  stockes  for 
2  howres  and  to  have  his  wares  taken  from  him 
to  bee  kept  for  a  tyme  to  ye  discretion  of  ye 
house  or  to  be  delivered  to  ye  party  offending  as 
they  shall  thinke  good. 

"  Item  my  lord  to  find  lights  for  the  stairs  and 
walkes  his  Executors  and  assignes. 

"  Item  whosever  of  the  Tenants  shall  keepe  ye 
key  of  ye  dores  if  the  key  bee  not  there  ready  by 
6  a  clock  in  ye  morning  they  shall  forfeit  for 
every  default  viijd  to  bee  employed  to  ye  use 
afForesaid. 

"  Those  things  which  ye  keeper  of  ye  Burse 
must  have  care  of  appointed  by  my 
lord  att  the  errection  thereof. 

"  To  suffer  none  to  fetch  watter  by  ye  staires  or 
walks  or  carry  coals  or  other  carying  by  ye  watter 
gate  to  any  of  ye  neghbours  in  ye  streete  but 
only  for  the  shopkeepers  howses  save  Mr  Wilsons. 

"  To  be  obeydient  to  Mr  Wilson's  command  in 
all  things  concerning  ye  said  buisines." 

Returning  to  Durham  House,  we  recall  that,  on 

the  death  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  the  property  was 

restored  to  the   see   of    Durham   and   that   Lord 

Salisbury   had    become   possessed    of    the   Strand 

35 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

portion.  The  history  shortly  after  this  period  is  not 
particularly  clear,  for,  although  on  February  16, 
1612,  we  find  that  the  aforesaid  William  James, 
Bishop  of  Durham,  wrote  to  Lord  Salisbury 
thanking  him  for  his  "  honourable  dealings  in  the 
purchase  of  Durham  House,"  on  the  other  hand, 
John  Howson,  who  was  Bishop  of  Durham  from 
1628  to  the  year  of  his  death,  1632,  was  residing 
here  two  years  prior  to  his  decease.  The  "  honour- 
able dealings,"  of  course,  related  to  that  part  of 
the  grounds  and  stabling  of  Durham  House  which 
had  been  transferred  to  Lord  Salisbury  in  1607 
and  1609.  Durham  House  itself  fell  into  decay 
in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It — or 
a  portion  of  it — was  inhabited  by  Lord-Keeper 
Coventry,  who  died  here  in  1640. 

Part  of  the  ground  was  acquired  by  Philip 
Herbert,  Earl  of  Pembroke  and  Montgomery,  in 
consideration  of  his  payment  to  the  see  of  Durham 
of  £200  per  annum,  the  grant  being  confirmed 
by  Act  of  Parliament  in  1640.  And,  according  to 
Strype,  "  It  was  by  his  son  built  into  tenements  or 
houses,  as  now  they  are  standing,  being  a  handsome 
street  descending  down  out  of  the  Strand."  This 
was  Durham  Yard,  which  ran  down  to  the  river, 
and  is  now  covered  by  the  buildings  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Adelphi.  In  1667-1668,  the  office 
of    Commissioners  for  Accounts   was  in  Durham 

Yard,  and  we  get  an  interesting  word-picture 
36 


SAMUEL  PEPYS 

of  it  from  the  pages  of  Samuel  Pepys.  On 
January  31,  "Up,"  he  recorded,  "by  coach,  with 
W.  Griffin  with  me,  and  our  Contract-books, 
to  Durham  Yard,  to  the  Commissioners  for 
Accounts ;  the  first  time  I  ever  was  there ;  and 
staid  awhile  before  I  was  admitted  to  them.  I  did 
observe  a  great  many  people  attending  about  com- 
plaints of  seamen  concerning  tickets,  and  among 
others  Mr  Carcasse,  and  Mr  Martin,  my  purser. 
And  I  observe  a  fellow,  one  Collins,  is  there,  who 
is  employed  by  these  Commissioners  particularly 
to  hold  an  office  in  Bishopsgate  Street,  or  some- 
where thereabouts,  to  receive  complaints  of  all 
people  about  tickets  ;  and  I  believe  he  will  have 
work  enough.  Presently  I  was  called  in,  where  1 
found  the  whole  number  of  Commissioners,  and 
was  there  received  with  great  respect  and  kindness  ; 
and  did  give  them  great  satisfaction,  making  it  my 
endeavour  to  inform  them  what  it  was  they  were 
to  expect  from  me,  and  what  was  the  duty  of  other 
people  ;  this  being  my  only  way  to  preserve  myself, 
after  all  my  pains  and  trouble.  They  did  ask 
many  questions,  and  demanded  other  books  of  me, 
which  I  did  give  them  very  ready  and  acceptable 
answers  to;  and,  upon  the  whole,  I  do  observe 
they  do  go  about  their  business  like  men  resolved 
to  go  through  with  it,  and  in  a  very  good  method, 
like  men  of  understanding.     They  have  Mr  Jessop, 

their  secretary ;   and  it  is  pretty  to  see  that  they 

37 


2«« 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

are  fain  to  find  out  an  old-fashioned  man  of  Crom- 
well's to  do  their  business  for  them,  as  well  as  the 
Parliament  to  pitch  upon  such  for  the  most  part 
in  the  lowest  of  people  that  were  brought  into  the 
House  for  Commissioners.  I  went  away  giving 
and  receiving  great  satisfaction."  Various  other 
public  offices  were  in  Durham  Yard  at  this  period. 
In  1664,  the  Coal  Meter's  Office  was  here,  and,  in 
1675,  His  Majesty's  Office  for  granting  wine  licenses. 

On  April  26,  1669,  Pepys  records:  "A  great 
fire  happened  in  Durham  Yard  last  night,  burning 
the  house  of  one  Lady  Hungerford,  who  was  to 
come  to  town  to  it  this  night ;  and  so  the  house  is 
burned,  new  furnished,  by  carelessness  of  the  girl 
sent  to  take  off  a  candle  from  a  bunch  of  candles, 
which  she  did  by  burning  it  off,  and  left  the  rest, 
as  it  is  supposed,  on  fire.  The  King  and  Court 
were  here,  it  seems,  and  stopped  the  fire  by  blowing 
up  the  next  house."  The  Merry  Monarch,  having 
stopped  the  fire  in  Durham  Yard,  was  up  betimes 
next  morning  and  off  to  Newmarket. 

Several  other  side-lights  on  the  subject  are 
furnished  by  Pepys.  Thus,  on  February  1,  1663- 
1664,  he  notes  that,  "  I  hear  how  two  men  last  night, 
justling  for  the  wall  about  the  New  Exchange,  did 
kill  one  another,  each  thrusting  the  other  through  ; 
one  of  them  of  the  King's  Chapel,  one  Cave,  and 
the  other  a  retayner  of  my  Lord  Generall  Middle- 
ton's."  In  the  year  of  the  Great  Fire,  1666,  he  is 
38 


DEAN  CROFTS 

"  up  by  five  o'clock  "  on  September  7,  "  and,  blessed 
be  God !  find  all  well ;  and  by  water  to  Pane's 
Wharfe.  Walked  thence,  and  saw  all  the  towne 
burned,  and  a  miserable  sight  of  Paul's  church,  with 
all  the  roofs  fallen,  and  the  body  of  the  quire  fallen 
into  St  Fayth's ;  Paul's  school  also,  Ludgate,  and 
Fleet  Street.  My  father's  house,  and  the  church, 
and  a  good  part  of  the  Temple  the  like.  So  to 
Creed's  lodging,  near  the  New  Exchange,  and  there 
find  him  laid  down  upon  a  bed ;  the  house  all  un- 
furnished, there  being  fears  of  the  fire's  coming  to 
them.  There  borrowed  a  shirt  of  him,  and  washed. 
To  Sir  W.  Coventry,  at  St  James's,  who  lay  with- 
out curtains,  having  removed  all  his  goods  ;  as  the 
King  at  White  Hall,  and  everybody  had  done,  and 
was  doing."  Three  months  later,  the  "  very  good 
newes  is  just  come  of  our  four  ships  from  Smyrna, 
come  safe  without  convoy  even  into  the  Downes, 
without  seeing  any  enemy  ;  which  is  the  best,  and, 
indeed,  only  considerable  good  news  to  our  Ex- 
change since  the  burning  of  the  City ;  and  it  is 
strange  to  see  how  it  do  cheer  up  men's  hearts. 
Here  I  saw  shops  now  come  to  be  in  this  Exchange ; 
and  met  little  Batelier  who  sits  here  but  at  3  L.  per 
annum,  whereas  he  sat  at  the  other  at  100  L. ;  which 
he  says  he  believes  will  prove  as  good  account  to 
him  now  as  the  other  did  at  that  rent." 

Dean  Crofts  of  Norwich  and  various   others  of 

some  standing  were  living  in  Durham  Yard  in  1675, 

39 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

and  in  that  year  some  waterworks,  which  are  not  to 
be  confused  with  those  of  the  York  Buildings  com- 
pany, were  established  by  Sir  Robert  Vyner  and 
others.  In  1677,  Durham  Yard  had  gone  to  ruin, 
and  was  notorious  as  a  place  of  ill  repute.  In  April 
of  that  year  Le  Tellier,  Archbishop  and  Duke  of 
Rheims,  crossed  the  Channel  in  order  to  "treat 
about  a  marriage  with  the  Lady  Mary,  daughter  of 
the  Duke  of  York,  with  the  Dauphin."  In  some 
ribald  verses  by  the  libellous  Anthony  Wood  (or, 
as  he  dubbed  himself,  Anthony  a  Wood,  1632-1695) 
we  read  that : 

"The  Bishop  who  from  France  came  slowly  o'er 
Did  go  to  Betty  Beaulie's  " — 

this  Betty  being  a  person  of  notorious  character 
who  lived  in  Durham  Yard.  Dryden,  in  his  1667 
comedy,  Sir  Martin  Marrall,  makes  Lady  Dupe 
refer  to  Durham  Yard  as  the  customary  landing- 
place  for  Covent  Garden.  And  The  Tatler  of 
June  7,  1709,  alludes  to  "  a  certain  lady  who  left 
her  coach  at  the  New  Exchange  door  in  the  Strand, 
and  whipt  down  Durham  Yard  into  a  boat  with  a 
young  gentleman  for  Fox  Hall." 

Durham  Yard  was  the  first  residence  in  London 
(1675)  of  Godfrey  Kneller.  David  Garrick  and 
Samuel  Johnson  are  closely  connected  with  the 
place.  It  was  here  that  the  volatile  Garrick,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-three,  was  in  partnership  with   his 

brother,  Peter,  as  a  wine-merchant.  I  do  not  think 
40 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  ARTS,  JOHN  STREET,  ADELPHI. 


[  /  'oface  p.  40. 


VOLTAIRE 

that  he  lived  here,  but,  certainly,  the  brothers  had 
their  wine  vaults  in  Durham  Yard.  But  the  union 
did  not  last  long.  "Peter  was  calm,  sedate,  and 
methodical ;  David  was  gay,  volatile,  and  impetuous, 
and,  perhaps,  not  so  confined  to  regularity  as  his 
partner  could  have  wished."  Therefore,  as  Garrick's 
biographer,  Thomas  Davies,  puts  it,  "  to  prevent 
the  continuance  of  fruitless  and  daily  altercation," 
friends  intervened,  and  the  partnership  was  dissolved 
amicably.  Another  most  interesting  memory  of 
Durham  Yard  is  associated  with  Garrick's  friend, 
Samuel  Johnson,  who,  at  the  time  of  the  wine 
partnership,  was  living  (March,  1741)  "  at  the  Black 
Boy  over  against  Durham  Yard  " — this  is  not  to  be 
confused  with  Johnson's  "garret,"  which  was  in 
Exeter  Street,  Strand.  Samuel  Foote,  in  his  ill- 
natured  way,  used  to  say  that  he  remembered 
"  Davy  "  in  Durham  Yard  "  with  three  quarts  of 
vinegar  in  the  cellar,  calling  himself  a  wine 
merchant."  Thanks  to  wine,  we  have  another 
notable  association  with  Durham  Yard.  Here  was 
a  wine  merchant  named  Brisden,  whose  shop  was 
frequented  by  Voltaire.  On  his  return  to  France, 
Voltaire  wrote  to  "Dear  John,"  wishing  him 
"  good  health  and  a  quick  sale  to  your  Burgundy." 
He  knew  this  neighbourhood  well,  for,  during 
his  abode  in  England,  1726-1729,  he  constantly 
visited  his  friend  Congreve,  the  dramatist,  in  Surrey 

Street,  Strand.     Voltaire  lodged  in  Maiden  Lane,  a 

41 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

few  yards  from  the  Adelphi,  over  a  French  barber's 
shop,  which  was  distinguished  by  the  sign  of  the 
White  Peruke.  He  was  thoroughly  familiar  with 
English,  and,  on  one  occasion,  a  mob  of  roughs 
assailed  him  and  twitted  him  for  being — his  appear- 
ance left  no  doubt  as  to  his  nationality — a  "Frenchy." 
Voltaire  nimbly  "  mounted  an  adjacent  doorstep  and 
addressed  the  crowd  in  good  English,  extolling 
the  liberty  of  England  and  the  people.  His  speech 
was  a  success.  The  mob  took  on  at  once,  and 
cheered  him  ;  eventually  they  mounted  him  on  the 
shoulders  of  a  couple  of  stout  fellows  and  carried 
him  in  triumph  to  his  lodgings.  Never  after  that 
was  he  molested  in  his  walks." l 

Leigh  Hunt,  in  The  Town,  describing  Voltaire's 
visit  to  England,  says  that  he  wrote  to  Swift  from 
Maiden  Lane,  in  English,  but  that  the  language 
"seems  a  little  too  perfect."  There  is  a  second 
letter  to  Swift  "  which  looks  more  authentic.  But 
there  is  no  doubt  that  Voltaire,  while  in  England, 
made  himself  such  a  master  of  the  language  as  to 
be  able  to  write  in  it  with  a  singular  correctness 
for  a  foreigner.  He  was  then  young.  He  had 
been  imprisoned  in  the  Bastile  for  a  libel,  came 
over  here  on  his  release ;  procured  many  sub- 
scriptions for  the  Henriade ;  published  in  English 
an  essay  on  epic  poetry,  and  remained  some 
years,  during  which  he  became   acquainted   with 

1  Callow,  Old  London  Taverns,  p.  281. 
42 


VOLTAIRE 

the  principal  men  of  letters — Pope,  Congreve,  and 
Young.  He  is  said  to  have  talked  so  indecently  at 
Pope's  table  (probably  no  more  than  was  thought 
decent  by  the  belles  in  France)  that  the  good  old 
lady,  the  poet's  mother,  was  obliged  to  retire. 
Objecting,  at  Lord  Chesterfield's  table,  to  the 
allegories  of  Milton,  Young  is  said  to  have  ac- 
costed him  in  the  well-known  couplet : 

'  Thou  art  so  witty,  profligate,  and  thin, 
Thou  seem'st  a  Milton,  with  his  Death  and  Sin.' 

But  this  story  has  been  doubted.  Young,  though 
not  so  thin,  was  as  witty  and  profligate  in  his  way 
as  Voltaire ;  for,  even  when  affecting  a  hermit- 
like sense  of  religion,  he  was  a  servile  flatterer  and 
preferment-hunter.  The  secret  of  the  gloomy 
tone  in  his  Night- Thoughts  was  his  not  having 
too  much,  and  his  missing  a  bishopric.  This  is 
the  reason  why  the  Night- Thoughts  are  overdone, 
and  have  not  stood  their  ground.  Voltaire  left 
England  with  such  a  mass  of  subscriptions  for  his 
Henriade  as  laid  the  foundation  of  his  fortunes, 
and  with  great  admiration  of  English  talent  and 
genius,  particularly  that  of  Newton  and  Locke, 
which,  with  all  his  insinuations  against  our  poetry, 
he  took  warm  pains  to  extend  and  never  gave  up. 
He  was  fond  to  the  last  of  showing  he  had  not 
forgotten  his  English.  Somebody  telling  him  that 
Johnson  had  spoken  well  of  his  talents,  he  said,  in 

English,  '  He  is  a  clever  fellow ' ;  but  the  gentle- 

43 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

man  observing  that  the  doctor  did  not  think  well 
of  his  religion,  he  added,  'A  superstitious  dog.'" 

An  affair  which  had  a  tragic  ending  occurred  in 
the  New  Exchange  in  1653.  The  circumstances 
are  fully  related  in  the  State  Papers.  In  the 
winter  of  that  year  there  came  to  England  an 
ambassador  from  the  King  of  Portugal,  with  a 
very  splendid  equipage  ;  and  in  his  retinue  his 
brother,  Don  Pantaleon  de  Sa,  a  Knight  of 
Malta,  and  "  a  gentleman  of  a  haughty  and  im- 
perious nature."  One  day  in  November,  Don 
Pantaleon  was  walking  with  two  friends  in  the 
Exchange,  when  a  quarrel  arose  between  them  and 
a  young  English  gentleman,  named  Gerard,  who 
accused  the  Portuguese  of  speaking  in  French 
disparagingly  of  England.  One  of  the  Portuguese 
gave  Mr  Gerard  the  lie,  and  then  began  to  jostle 
him ;  swords  were  drawn,  and  all  three  fell  upon 
Gerard,  and  one  of  them  stabbed  him  with  his 
dagger  in  the  shoulder.  A  few  unarmed  English- 
men interfered,  separated  the  combatants,  and  got 
the  Portuguese  out  of  the  Exchange,  one  of  them 
with  a  cut  upon  his  cheek. 

On  the  next  evening,  Don  Pantaleon  came  to 

take  his  revenge,  accompanied  by  fifty  followers ; 

"  two   Knights  of  Malta  led  on  by  a  Portuguese 

Captain  in  buff;  all  having  generally  double  arms, 

swords  and  pistols,  and  coats  of  mail ;  two  or  three 

coaches  brought  ammunition,  hand-grenades,  and 
44 


MURDER  IN  THE  EXCHANGE 

bottles,  and  little  barrels  of  powder  and  bullets  ; 
and  boats  were  provided  ready  at  the  water-side. 
They  had  resolved  to  fall  upon  every  Englishman 
they  should  find  in  or  about  the  Exchange.  They 
entered  all  with  drawn  swords ;  the  people  fled  for 
shelter  into  the  shops  ;  there  were  few  Englishmen 
present,  but  of  these  four  were  severely  wounded 
by  the  Portuguese."  A  Mr  Greenaway,  of 
Lincoln's  Inn,  was  walking  with  his  sister  and  a 
lady  whom  he  was  to  have  married.  These  he 
placed  for  safety  in  a  shop ;  he  then  went  to  see 
what  was  the  matter,  when  the  Portuguese, 
mistaking  Greenaway  for  Gerard,  gave  the  word, 
and  he  was  killed  by  a  pistol  shot  through  the 
head.  The  crowd  grew  enraged,  and  Don 
Pantaleon  and  the  Portuguese  retreated  to  the 
house  of  embassy,  caused  the  gates  to  be  shut,  and 
put  all  the  servants  in  arms  to  defend  it.  Mean- 
while the  Horse  Guard  on  duty  had  apprehended 
some  of  the  Portuguese,  and  Cromwell  sent 
Colonel  Whaley  in  command,  who  pursued  others 
to  the  ambassador's  house  with  his  horse,  and 
there  demanded  that  the  rest  should  be  given  up. 
The  Ambassador  insisted  upon  his  privilege,  and 
that  by  the  law  of  nations  his  house  was  a  sanctuary 
for  all  his  countrymen ;  but  finding  the  officer 
resolute,  and  that  he  was  not  strong  enough  for  the 
encounter,   desired    time    to    send    to    the   Lord 

General   Cromwell,   which   was    granted,   and   he 

45 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

complained  of  the  injury,  and  desired  an  audience. 
Cromwell  sent  a  messenger  in  reply,  to  state  that 
a  gentleman  had  been  murdered,  and  several  other 
persons  wounded,  and  that  if  the  criminals  were 
not  given  up,  the  soldiers  would  be  withdrawn,  and 
"  the  people  would  pull  down  the  house,  and 
execute  justice  themselves."  Under  this  threat, 
Don  Pantaleon,  three  of  his  retainers,  and  an 
English  boy,  the  Don's  servant,  were  given  up ; 
they  were  confined  in  the  guard-house  for  the 
night,  and  next  day  sent  prisoners  to  Newgate, 
whence,  in  about  three  weeks,  the  Don  made  his 
escape,  but  was  retaken. 

By  the  intercession  of  the  Portuguese  merchants, 
the  trial  was  delayed  till  the  6th  of  July  in  the 
following  year,  when  the  prisoners  were  arraigned 
for  the  crime  of  murder.  Don  Pantaleon  at  first 
refused  to  plead,  as  he  held  a  commission  to  act  as 
Ambassador  in  the  event  of  his  brother's  death  or 
absence  from  England.  He  was  then  threatened 
with  "the  press,"  that  horrible  form  of  torture, 
pressing  to  death,  or  peine  forte  et  dure,  whereupon 
he  pleaded   not  guilty.1     A  jury  of  English  and 

1  "The  press"  was  administered  to  prisoners  who  refused  to 
plead  in  answer  to  a  charge.  The  sentence  was  as  follows : 
"  That  you  be  taken  back  to  the  prison  whence  you  came,  to  a 
low  dungeon,  into  which  no  light  can  enter ;  that  you  be  laid 
on  your  back  on  the  bare  floor  with  a  cloth  round  your  loins, 
but  elsewhere  naked ;  that  there  be  set  upon  your  body  a 
weight  of  iron  as  great  as  you  can  bear — and  greater ;  that  you 
46 


DON  PANTALEON  DE  SA 

foreigners  brought  in  a  verdict  of  guilty,  and  the 
five  prisoners  were  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  Every 
effort  was  made  to  save  Don  Pantaleon's  life ;  but 
Cromwell's  reply  was :  "  Blood  has  been  shed, 
and  justice  must  be  satisfied."  The  only  mercy 
shown  was  a  respite  of  two  days,  and  a  reprieve 
from  the  disgraceful  death  of  hanging ;  the 
Ambassador  having  craved  permission  to  kill  his 
brother  with  his  own  sword,  rather  than  he  should 
be  hanged. 

A  remarkable  coincidence  concluded  this  strange 
story.  While  Don  Pantaleon  lay  in  Newgate, 
awaiting  his  trial,  Gerard,  with  whom  the  quarrel 
in  the  Exchange  had  arisen,  got  entangled  in  a  plot 
to  assassinate  Cromwell,  was  tried  and  condemned 
to  be  hanged,  which,  as  in  the  Don's  case,  was 
changed  to  beheading.  Both  suffered  on  the  same 
day,  on  Tower  Hill.  Don  Pantaleon,  attended  by 
a  number  of  his  brother's  suite,  was  conveyed  in  a 
mourning-coach  with  six  horses,  from  Newgate  to 
Tower  Hill,  to  the  same  scaffold  whereon  Gerard 
had  just  suffered.  The  Don,  after  his  devotions, 
gave  his  confessor  his  beads  and  crucifix,  laid  his 
head  on  the  block,  and  it  was  chopped  off  at  two 

have  no  substance,  save  on  the  first  day  three  morsels  of  the 
coarsest  bread,  on  the  second  day  three  draughts  of  stagnant 
water  from  the  pool  nearest  to  the  prison  door,  on  the  third 
day  again  three  morsels  of  bread  as  before,  and  such  bread  and 
such  water  alternately  from  day  to  day  until  you  die."  This 
barbarous  law  remained  in  force  until  1772. 

47 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

blows.  On  the  same  day,  the  English  boy-servant 
was  hanged  at  Tyburn.  The  three  retainers 
were  pardoned.  Pennant  says  that  Gerard  died 
"  with  intrepid  dignity ;  the  Portuguese  with  all 
the  pusillanimity  of  an  assassin."  Cromwell's  stern 
and  haughty  justice,  and  the  perfect  retribution 
exacted  on  this  occasion,  have  been  much  extolled. 
His  decision  tended  to  render  his  Government  still 
more  respected  abroad  ;  and  it  settled  a  knotty 
point  as  to  "the  inviolability  of  ambassadors."1 

1   The  Romance  of  London,  Timbs,  vol.  i.,  pp.  105-8. 


48 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Romantic  Story  of  the  White  Milliner,  otherwise  the  Beauti- 
ful Frances  Jennings,  Duchess  of  Tyrconnel — Her  Youthful 
Escapade — Her  Connection  with  the  New  Exchange  the 
subject  of  a  Play  by  Douglas  Jen-old — Its  Failure  and 
the  Author's  Disappointment — "  Nan  "  Clarges,  afterwards 
Duchess  of  Albemarle,  sells  Wash-balls  in  the  New  Exchange 
— Her  Burial  in  Westminster  Abbey — Sir  William  Read,  the 
Quack,  cures  ' '  Wry  Necks"  in  Durham  Yard — Demolition 
of  the  New  Exchange — A  Noted  Book-shop — Ambassadors 
reside  Here. 

The   romantic    story   of   the   White   Widow,   or 

the  White  Milliner,  otherwise  Frances  Jennings, 

Duchess   of  Tyrconnel,  wife  of  Richard   Talbot, 

Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland  in  the  reign  of  James  II., 

plays  a  large  part  in  the  history  of  the  Adelphi. 

In  the  Revolution  of  1688  the  duchess  sold  small 

articles  of  haberdashery  for  a  few  days  in  the  New 

Exchange.     According  to  Horace  Walpole,  "  She 

wore   a  white  dress   wrapping  her  whole  person, 

and  a  white  mask,  which  she  never  removed,  and 

excited   much  interest  and   curiosity."     Her   case 

becoming  known,  "  she  was   provided   for."     The 

association   of  Richard   Talbot's  widow   with  the 

4  49 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Adelphi  is  very  curious.  This  lady,  Frances  Jen- 
nings, was  sister  to  the  celebrated  Duchess  of 
Marlborough.  By  her  first  husband,  George,  Count 
Hamilton,  a  member  of  the  Abercorn  family,  and 
a  marechal  de  camp  in  the  French  service,  she  had 
three  daughters :  Elizabeth,  afterwards  the  wife  of 
Viscount  Ross  ;  Frances,  wife  of  Viscount  Dillon  ; 
and  Mary,  wife  of  Viscount  Kingsland.  On  the 
death  of  Count  Hamilton,  she  married  Colonel 
Richard  Talbot,  Baron  of  Talbot's  Town,  Viscount 
of  Baltinglass,  and  Earl  of  Tyrconnel.  On  March 
20,  1688,  James  II.  created  him  Marquess  and 
Duke  of  Tyrconnel.  On  his  death,  in  1691,  his 
widow  was  left  with  two  daughters,  one  of  whom 
became  Princess  of  Vintimiglia.1     Walpole  states 

1  "  Richard,  or  Dick  Talbot,  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  was 
descended  from  an  ancient  family  of  English  extraction,  who 
had  early  settled  in  Ireland.  He  commenced  life  as  a  profligate 
and  ended  it  as  a  bigot.  Clarendon  informs  us  that  he  was  the 
person  selected  to  assassinate  Cromwell,  and  that  he  willingly 
undertook  to  execute  the  deed ;  at  another  time,  we  find  him 
cruelly  and  impudently  insisting  on  his  intimacy  with  Anne 
Hyde,  in  order  to  prevent  her  union  with  the  Duke  of  York. 
In  person  he  was  far  above  the  common  stature,  and  was  ex- 
tremely graceful  and  well-made.  He  possessed  considerable 
knowledge  of  the  world,  and  had  early  been  introduced  into  the 
best  society.  To  his  friends  he  is  said  to  have  been  generous 
and  obliging,  and  it  was  much  to  his  credit,  that  at  the  Revolu- 
tion no  offers  could  induce  him  to  desert  the  King's  interests. 
His  conduct  in  Ireland  at  that  period  is  a  matter  of  history.  He 
strenuously  espoused  the  cause  of  James ;  but,  as  his  capacity 
was  inferior  to  his  zeal,  and  as  he  had  more  personal  courage 
than  military  genius,  his  services  were  of  little  avail.  'From 
50 


THE  WHITE  MILLINER 

that  the  duchess,  on  her  arrival  in  England  in  1688, 
was  reduced  to  absolute  want,  and,  being  unable 
to  procure  safe  access  to  her  family,  she  adopted 
the  disguise  of  the  White  Milliner  as  a  temporary 
means  of  livelihood.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  duchess 
must  have  had  money  in  her  widowhood,  for 
shortly  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  and  despite 
the  penal  laws  against  the  Roman  Catholics,  she 
established  a  convent  for  Poor  Clares  in  King 
Street,  Dublin,  and  in  this  city,  at  the  ripe  old  age 
of  ninety-two,  she  died,  according  to  Horace  Wal- 
pole,  "in  consequence  of  falling  out  of  bed  upon 
the  floor  on  a  winter's  night.  Being  too  feeble  to 
rise  or  call  for  aid,  she  was  found  in  the  morning 
so  numbed  by  the  cold  that  she  lived  only  a  few 
hours."  She  was  buried  in  St  Patrick's  Cathedral 
on  March  9,  1730.  Walpole  describes  her  as  "  Of 
very  low  stature,  extremely  thin,  and  without  the 

the  time  of  the  battle  of  the  Boyne,'  says  the  Duke  of  Berwick, 
'  he  sunk  prodigiously,  and  became  as  irresolute  in  his  mind  as 
unwieldy  in  his  person.'  He  died  at  Limerick,  5th  August, 
1691.     Andrew  Marvell  says,  in  his  Advice  to  a  Painter1 : — 

'  Next,  Talbot  must  by  his  great  master  stand, 
Laden  with  folly,  flesh,  and  ill-got  land ; 
He's  of  a  size  indeed  to  fill  a  porch, 
But  ne'er  can  make  a  pillar  of  the  church. 
His  sword  is  all  his  argument,  not  his  book ; 
Although  no  scholar,  he  can  act  the  cook, 
And  will  cut  throats  again,  if  he  be  paid  ; 
In  the  Irish  shambles  he  first  learnt  the  trade.' " 

1  The   Court  of  England  under  the  Stuarts,  Jesse,  ed.  1855,  vol.  hi., 
p.  237. 

51 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

least  trace  of  in  her  features  of  ever  having  been  a 
beauty." 

Whatever  she  may  have  been  in  her  old  age,  she 
was  pretty  and  graceful  in  her  youth  when  at  the 
court  of  Charles  II.  Count  de  Grammont  states 
that  she  was  proof  against  all  the  wiles  of  the 
Merry  Monarch,  yet  her  spirits  were  such  that  on 
one  occasion  she  attired  herself  as  an  orange-wench 
in  order  to  have  her  fortune  told  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  St  James's. 

While  the  beauty  and  unusual  propriety  of  the 
new-comer  were  still  attracting  the  attention  of 
the  Court,  the  giddy  girl  was  indiscreet  enough 
to  embark  in  a  wild  frolic,  which  very  nearly  had 
the  effect  of  ruining  her  hitherto  stainless  reputa- 
tion. The  adventure  in  question,  which  has  been 
chronicled  by  more  than  one  contemporary  writer, 
is  thus  recorded  by  Pepys :  "  What  mad  freaks," 
he  says,  "  the  Mayds  of  Honour  at  Court  have  ! 
That  Mrs  Jennings,  one  of  the  Dutchesse's  maids, 
the  other  day  dressed  herself  like  an  orange  wench, 
and  went  up  and  down  and  cried  oranges ;  till, 
falling  down,  or  by  some  accident,  her  fine  shoes 
were  discovered,  and  she  put  to  a  great  deal  of 
shame."  The  particulars  of  the  adventure  are  so 
interesting  that  they  may  be  related  in  these  pages. 

"  Lord   Rochester,   at  this   time  in   disgrace  at 

Court,  happened   to   be  consoling  himself  for  the 

King's  displeasure  by  performing,  in  an  obscure 
52 


FRANCES  JENNINGS 

corner  of  the  city,  the  character  of  a  German 
empiric  and  fortune-teller.  The  success  of  his 
celebrated  frolic  is  well  known.  His  fame,  which 
at  first  had  been  merely  local,  had  gradually  spread 
itself  abroad  till  at  last  it  reached  the  ears  of  the 
Court.  Rochester  was  of  course  equally  as  well 
acquainted  with  the  scandal  of  the  day  as  with 
the  persons  and  characters  of  those  who  figured 
in  the  licentious  Court  of  his  royal  master.  Ac- 
cordingly, having  recognised  one  or  two  of  the 
female  attendants  of  the  maids  of  honour,  who 
had  eagerly  flocked  to  consult  him,  he  sent  them 
back  so  amazed  by  his  superhuman  powers  as  to 
excite  the  curiosity  of  their  mistresses.  The 
result  fully  answered  Rochester's  expectations. 
Under  the  protection  of  the  then  fashionable 
mask,  there  was  more  than  one  giddy  maid  of 
honour  who  made  up  her  mind  to  dive  into  the 
secrets  of  futurity  by  means  of  the  German 
mountebank.  Who,  indeed,  could  gravely  blame 
them,  when  even  the  Queen  herself  had  set  the 
example  of  risking  her  reputation,  by  indulging  in 
similar  masquerading  frolics  ? 

"  Among  those  whose  curiosity  was  thus  excited 
were  Miss  Jennings  and  Miss  Price,  the  latter,  a 
young  lady  of  indifferent  reputation,  who  had 
formerly  been  a  maid  of  honour  to  the  Duchess  of 
York.      Miss    Jennings,     young    and    indiscreet, 

believing  that  as  long  as  she  preserved  her  virtue 

53 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

it  mattered  little  how  she  obtained  amusement, 
easily  enlisted  her  friend  in  her  mad  schemes. 
Accordingly,  having  provided  themselves  with  the 
dresses  of  orange-girls  (a  garb  usually  worn  by 
the  least  reputable  members  of  society),  they  issued 
from  St  James's  Palace,  and,  crossing  the  park  on 
foot,  entered  a  hackney-coach  at  Whitehall. 

"They  had  nearly  reached  the  theatre,  where 
they  knew  the  Duchess  to  be  in  person,  when  Miss 
Price  had  the  imprudence  to  propose  their  joining 
the  real  orange-girls  and  selling  their  fruit  in  the 
face  of  the  Court.  As  they  entered  the  theatre, 
they  encountered  '  the  handsome  Sydney,'  who  was 
just  alighting  from  his  carriage.  Miss  Price 
offered  him  her  basket ;  but  the  dandy,  either  lost 
in  the  contemplation  of  his  own  charms,  or  of  those 
of  his  mistress,  the  Duchess  of  York,  took  no  notice 
of  the  masqueraders.  Their  next  adventure  was 
with  Killegrew,  to  whom  Miss  Jennings  timidly 
held  out  her  basket,  while  the  other,  in  the  cant 
language  of  the  place,  requested  him  to  buy  '  her 
fine  oranges.'  The  challenge  was  met  by  the 
libertine  in  the  kind  of  manner  that  might  have 
been  expected.  He  even  gave  proof  of  his  admira- 
tion of  Miss  Jennings  by  so  rude  an  homage  as  to 
bring  the  blush  to  her  cheek  and  the  fire  to  her 
eye.  Leaving  Killegrew  to  enjoy  a  hearty  laugh 
at  the  preposterous  notion  of  the   existence  of  a 

virtuous  orange-girl,  Miss  Price  hastily  dragged 
54 


A  COURT  ADVENTURE 

away  her  friend,  whom  terror  and  indignation  had 
rendered  nearly  powerless. 

"  Their  fright,  however,  was  insufficient  to  pre- 
vent their  pursuing  the  original  frolic  of  the  evening. 
Having  entered  another  hackney-coach,  they  were 
on  the  point  of  alighting  within  a  few  doors  of  the 
fortune-teller's,  when,  to  their  consternation,  they 
encountered  a  far  more  dangerous  person  than 
Killegrew.  This  was  no  other  than  the  immoral 
and  licentious  Brouncker,  who,  having  been  dining 
with  a  merchant  in  the  neighbourhood,  was  on  his 
way  homewards,  when  the  novelty  of  seeing  two 
orange-girls  in  a  hackney-coach  attracted  his 
attention.  Perceiving  themselves  to  be  objects  of 
curiosity  to  so  dangerous  a  libertine,  they  desired 
their  coachman  to  drive  on,  and  to  put  them  down 
in  another  part  of  the  street.  Brouncker,  however, 
stealthily  followed  them  ;  nor  was  his  astonishment 
diminished,  when  he  perceived  that  the  shoes  and 
stockings,  that  covered  the  pretty  feet  and  ankles 
which  alighted  from  the  vehicle,  were  of  a  quality 
strangely  at  variance  with  the  rest  of  the  costume. 
Having  contrived  to  obtain  a  glimpse  of  their 
faces,  which  they  vainly  endeavoured  to  conceal 
from  him,  he  at  once  recognised  the  beautiful 
maid  of  honour,  on  whose  motives  for  disguise 
he  naturally  put  the  worst  possible  construction. 
Believing  that  an  assignation  on  the  part  of  the 

chaste   Miss   Jennings   was   at  the  bottom  of  the 

55 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

frolic,  and  delighted  with  the  tale  of  scandal  with 
which  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  amuse  the  Court, 
he  continued  to  tease  the  frightened  girls  for  a 
short  time,  without  betraying  that  he  had  recognised 
them,  and  then  laughingly  wished  them  good-night. 

"  Unfortunately  the  disagreeable  adventures  of 
the  night  were  not  yet  at  an  end.  During  the 
time  that  the  two  maids  of  honour  had  been  en- 
during the  impertinences  and  libertine  proposals 
of  Brouncker,  a  crowd  of  blackguard  boys,  not  con- 
tented with  collecting  round  their  coach,  had  made 
a  violent  attack  on  their  orange  baskets.  The 
coachman  had  taken  the  part  of  his  fare ;  and,  in 
consequence  of  his  gallantly  resisting  the  attempts 
of  the  depredators,  a  fight  had  ensued  and  the 
street  was  in  an  uproar.  The  fruit,  of  course,  was 
only  too  gladly  relinquished  to  the  mob,  from 
whom,  notwithstanding,  the  presumed  orange-girls 
received  a  volley  of  abuse  and  ridicule.  Finally, 
though  with  some  difficulty,  they  contrived  to 
re-enter  their  coach,  and  at  last  arrived,  completely 
frightened  and  dispirited,  at  St  James's."1 

It  was  to  the  Duchess  of  Tyrconnel,  as  she  then 
was,  that  James  II.  had  to  relate  the  melancholy 
story  of  his  defeat  at  the  battle  of  the  Boyne : 
"  Soon  after  sunset,  James,  escorted  by  two  hundred 
cavalry,  rode  into  the  Castle  [Dublin].  At  the 
threshold  he  was  met  by  the  wife  of  Tyrconnel, 

1  Jesse,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  233-236. 
56 


^f^^f        -^M$ 


I.  S.  5 


GARRICK'S  HOUSE,   5  ADELPH]  TERRACE. 


I  To  face  p.  56. 


DOUGLAS  JERROLD 

once  the  gay  and  beautiful  Fanny  Jennings,  the 
loveliest  coquette  in  the  brilliant  Whitehall  of  the 
Restoration.  To  her  the  vanquished  King  had  to 
relate  the  ruin  of  her  fortunes  and  of  his  own." l 
Jesse  regards  the  connection  of  the  Duchess  of 
Tyrconnel  with  the  New  Exchange  as  "apocry- 
phal." But  we  have  the  authority  of  Walpole 
and  Pennant  for  the  anecdote,  and  I  see  no  reason 
to  doubt  its  accuracy. 

The  romance  of  the  White  Milliner  of  the 
Adelphi  afforded  Douglas  Jerrold  material  for  a 
two-act  comedy,  which  Madame  Vestris  produced 
at  Covent  Garden  on  February  9,  1841.  The 
author  of  Black-eyed  Susan  was  apparently  suffer- 
ing from  some  slight  at  the  hands  of  the  critics, 
for  he  takes  them  to  task  soundly  in  his  Preface  to 
The  White  Milliner,  as  his  play  was  called.  Having 
related  the  incident  which  gave  rise  to  the  piece, 
he  goes  on  to  say :  "  In  our  day,  the  dramatist  who 
keeps  aloof  from  a  small  faction — which  almost 
avowedly  adopts  for  its  motto  the  dogma  of 
Moliere, — 

'  Nul  n'aura  de  l'esprit, 
Hors  nous  et  nos  amis,' — 

may  look  for  the  most  unrelenting  opposition  from 
two  or  three  stalwart  critics,  or,  rather,  literary 
vassals.  Fortunately,  however,  the  despicable  par- 
tisanship of  these  people  is  now  too  well  known 

1  Macaulay's  History  of  England,  ed.  1863,  vol.  v.,  p.  272. 

57 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

to  be  hurtful.  Whether  they  chronicle  their  in- 
justice in  bold  falsehood,  or  with  an  affectation  of 
candour,  examine  a  drama  to  find  in  it  nothing 
but  what  is  contemptible,  the  disinterested  motive 
is  equally  manifest.  However,  the  abuse  of  these 
folks,  like  certain  poisons  long  exposed  to  light, 
does  not  destroy — it  only  nauseates." 

The  cast  of  The  White  Milliner  was  remarkably 
strong.  It  contained,  in  addition  to  Madame 
Vestris,  who  played  the  heroine,  Albina,  Charles 
Mathews,  James  Vining,  Robert  Keeley,  and 
William  Farren.  The  opening  scene  is  the 
"  Exterior  of  England's  Burse."  The  last  scene 
of  the  first  act  is  laid  in  the  interior  of  the  New 
Exchange.  A  crowd  of  milliners,  with  Doddles,  the 
Beadle  of  the  Burse,  in  the  centre,  fill  the  stage : 

"  Doddles.  Silence  !     Silence  ! 

Betty.  Hear  the  Beadle  ! 

1st  Milliner.  Attention  for  Doddles  ! 

2nd  Milliner.  Does  it  concern  us  all  ? 

Doddles.  All :   maids,  wives,   widows,   and   young 

women.     Silence ! 
Betty.  Now,  then  ;  we're  still  as  mice. 
Doddles.  Yes — when  the  cat's  dead.     Silence  !  and 

no  winking. 
Betty.  La !     Make  haste. 
Doddles.    Manners,     Betty    Furbelow,    manners ! 

When  1  was  in  the  army 

Betty.  We've  heard  all  about  that. 

Doddles.    Before     sleeping     in     wet     blankets,    I 

gloriously  lost  my  voice  in  the  defence  of  my 

country 

58 


THE  WHITE  MILLINER 

Betty.  I'm  sure  your  country  ought  to  be  much 
obliged  to  you.     But  the  rules  !  the  rules  ! 

Milliners.  The  rules ! 

Doddles.  Silence !  Attention !  Rear  rank,  take 
close  order.  Stand  off!  Baggages,  do  you 
call  smothering  a  man  taking  close  order  ? 
Hear  the  rules ! 

Milliners.  Silence  !  the  rules  ! 

Doddles.  '  Rules  for  the  better  regulation  of 
England's  Burse.     Whereas  ' 

Betty.  Oh,  skip  that ! 

Doddles.  Skip  it ! 

Betty.  Yes.  I  hate  everything  with  a  whereas. 
Come  to  the  rules. 

Doddles.  Well,  the  '  whereas '  is  long,  and — the 
fortune  of  war — I've  lost  my  voice.  But  it 
means  that  these  new  rules  are  not  only  for 
the  morals  of  the  Burse,  but,  above  all,  for  the 
better  transaction  of  business. 

Betty.  Now  for  it !  Attention,  ladies,  this  is 
business. 

Doddles  (reads).  *  Rule  the  first.  Any  milliner 
who  shall  deal  in  smuggled  goods  shall  forfeit 
her  stall  for  ever.' 

Milliners.  Shame  !     Shame  ! 

Betty.  Are  the  articles  specified?  No  !  Ladies, here's 
oppression  of  the  fair  sex  :  for  mayn't  the  most 
innocent  of  us  smuggle  a  little,  and  never  know 
it  ?     And  then  to  forfeit,  and  for  ever ! 

Doddles.  Not  only  eternally,  but  for  ever.  '  Rule 
second.     No  milliner  shall  talk  ' 

Milliners.  Ha  !  ha  !  ha  ! 

Doddles.  *  Or  laugh  ' 

Milliners.  Ha !  ha !  ha  ! 

Doddles.  *  Talk  or  laugh,  under  pain  of — of 

Betty.  Opening  her  mouth. 

59 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Doddles.  Silence  !  Talk  or  laugh,  under — under — 
my  breath  ! — '  under ' — somebody  read  it — 
somebody —     {Albina  comes  down  the  Burse.) 

Betty.  Here  comes  our  white  friend,  she'll  read  it. 
Here — {giving  Albina  paper) — read — read  : 
they're  new  rules  made  to  keep  us  in  order. 
To  put  down  smuggling  and — ha  !  ha ! — talking 
and  laughing,  and — ha !  ha ! — for  all  I  know, 
all  our  other  little  privileges.  Read,  for 
Doddles,  having  lost  his  voice,  they  made 
him  beadle.  Here :  read  rule  third,  for 
the  second's  nonsense. 

Albina  {reads).  '  Rule  third.  No  milliner  shall  be 
allowed  to  whisper  to  her  customers,  or  titter, 
or  blush.' 

Betty.  That's  a  hit  at  you,  Sally  Sly. 

1st  Milliner.  What  do  you  mean,  ma'am  ?  I 
whisper — I  titter — I  blush  !  I  scorn  you, 
ma'am ! 

Doddles.  Silence ! 

Albina  {reads).  '  And  whereas,  divers  sober  people, 
purchasers  of  gloves,  have  complained  of 
certain  pinching  of  the  fingers  by  certain 
persons,  it  is  ordered  that  such  unseemly 
practice  be  discontinued.' 

Betty.  And  very  proper  too.     I  don't  sell  gloves. 

Albina.  'Rule  fourth.  All  strong  waters,  or 
other  intoxicating  cordials ' 

Betty.  Attention,  ladies  !     This  may  be  important. 

Albina.  '  Are  rigorously  prohibited.' 

Betty.  You  see,  Miss  Bitters,  I  warned  you  what 
'twould  come  to. 

2nd  Milliner.  I !  1 1  I  defy  you,  ma'am  !  What 
do  you  mean  ? 

Betty.  My  meaning's  plain,  ma'am:  that  every- 
body's to  suffer  for  one  person,  ma'am. 

60 


THE  WHITE  MILLINER 

2nd  Milliner.  Do  you  insinuate?  Mr  Doddles, 
does  she  dare 

Betty.  I  insinuate  nothing ;  but  this  I  will  say : 
bottles  are  not  so  dear  that  people  should  use 
tea-cups. 

Doddles.  Silence  !  A  very  proper  rule  :  not  that  I 
see  any  harm  in  folks  having  comforts,  but 
then  they  ought  to  be  corked.     Silence ! 

Albina.  Rule  fifth.  '  Henceforth  no  milliner  shall 
presume  to — to — to' 

Doddles  {reads).  '  Wear  a  mask.' 

2nd  Milliner.  A  very  excellent  and  moral  regula- 
tion.    Now  we  shall  see  who's  who. 

1st  Milliner.  If  some  people  never  wore  anything 
else,  their  faces  wouldn't  be  the  losers. 

Betty.  A  mask,  ma'am,  may  be  good  at  a  pinch — 
at  a  pinch,  ma'am ;  but  as  I've  said,  ma'am,  I 
don't  sell  gloves,  ma'am. 

1st  Milliner.   Why,  you  scandalising,  wicked 

Doddles.  Silence  !     Silence  ! 

3rd  Milliner.  Company  !  Company  !  To  your 
stalls,  ladies.  (All  the  Milliners  station  them- 
selves at  their  stalls.  Albina  retires  among 
them. ) 

Visitors  come  down  the  Burse  from  c.     Enter 
Lord  and  Lady  Ortolan,  she  masked. 

Lord  O.  My  dear  Lady  Ortolan,  you  know  I  have 
the  worst  taste.  I  am  a  very  Vandal — a 
Hottentot.  I  know  no  more  about  gowns 
and  petticoats  than  an  ancient  Briton. 

Lady  O.  Oh,  my  lord,  I  will  not  have  you  libel 
your  capacity ;  for,  certainly,  no  one  has 
studied  the  subject  with  greater  perseverance. 
I  must  have  your  judgment  on  a  satin. 

Lord  O.  (aside).  She  has  dragged  me  here.     I  had 

61 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

as  lieve  made  a  journey  on   a  hurdle.     One 

comfort  is,  I  don't  see  my  enigma  in  white. 
Lady  O.  (aside).  She  is  not  here :  yet  I'll  not  stir 

till  I  confront  them. 
Doddles   (bringing  down  Albina).  Here  'tis;   rule 

fifth :    no   masks.       So   you    must    conform : 

therefore,  uncover  your  face  and 

Lady  O.  She's  here  ! 
Lord  O.  Confusion ! 
Doddles.   Rule    the    fifth,    which    forbids    masks, 

and — and 

Lady  O.  Nay,  poor  girl,  I'll  answer  for't  she  has 

good  reason  for  her   mystery.     Eh,  my  liege 

lord  ?     a  modest,  excellent,  worthy  maid,  no 

doubt  ? 
Lord  O.  (aside).  When  women  do  praise  women, 

what  kind  creatures ! 
Albina  (aside).  Surely  there  stands  my  tormentor. 

Her  liege  lord  !     So,  so,  now  for  my  revenge. 
Lady  O.  Come,  we  would  see  your  merchandise. 

His  lordship  has  forced  me  here  to  buy  a  dress. 
Albina.  And  his  lordship  is  such  a  judge  of  satin. 
Lady  O.  Indeed  ? 

Albina.  Oh,  yes,  and  so  good  to  his  mother. 
Lord  O.  (aside).  Would  I  were  hanged,  now,  in  a 

skein  of  silk ! 
Albina.  Twenty  gowns  for  his  honoured  parent. 
Lord  O.  Nay,  the  girl  mistakes  me  for  some  other 

customer.     She — she 

Lady  O.  This  insult,  my  lord,  passes   endurance. 

(Unmasking  herself)  Tell  me,  woman 

Albina  (aside).  Heavens!     Olivia!     You,  you  his 

wife ! 
Lady  O.  You  see  Lady  Ortolan. 
Albina.   Happy  chance ;  I  have  much,  indeed,  to 

tell  you — much  to  reveal. 
62 


'<  NAN  "  CLARGES 

Lord  O.  (aside).  Was  ever  poor  married  rogue  in 
such  a  plight  ? " 

In  commenting  on  the  failure  of  The  Wliite 
Milliner,  Jerrold's  son,  Blanchard  Jerrold,  wrote 
that  the  "  author  was  bitterly  disappointed  that  its 
pointed  and  tender  dialogue,  and  its  brisk  action, 
failed  to  achieve  success ;  more, — as  may  be  gathered 
from  his  own  words, — that  personal  enmity,  carried 
dishonestly  into  public  criticism,  sought  to  put  it 
aside  as  a  thing  in  all  respects  worthless."  It  was 
not  long,  however,  before  Mrs  Caudle's  Curtain 
Lectures  gave  Jerrold  a  foremost  place  as  a  wit 
and  removed  him  far  beyond  the  petty  spite  which 
had  helped  towards  the  failure  of  The  White 
Milliner. 

Another  personage  of  greater  note,  although  of 
lower  birth,  than  the  Duchess  of  Tyrconnel,  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  the  New  Exchange,  is 
"  Nan  "  Clarges,  subsequently  Duchess  of  Albemarle. 
This  remarkable  woman  was  the  daughter  of  John 
Clarges,  a  blacksmith  and  farrier,  who  lived  in 
Drury  Lane,  at  the  Strand  end,  a  spot  now 
obliterated.  Her  mother  was  one  of  five  women- 
barbers  of  notorious  disrepute.  A  contemporary 
ballad  has  the  refrain  : 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  the  like, 
Or  ever  hear  the  fame, 
Of  five  women  barbers 

Who  lived  in  Drury  Lane  ?  " 

63 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

In  the  Lives  and  Adventures  of  Whitney,  John 

Cottington  alias   Mul-Sack,  and   Thomas    Waters 

(1753),  there  is  a  reference  to  these  women :  "  They 

were  five  noted  amazons  in  Drury  Lane,  who  were 

called  women-shavers,  and  whose  actions  were  then 

talked  of  much  about  town  ;  till  being  apprehended 

for  a  riot,  and  one  or  two  of  them  severely  punished, 

the  rest  fled  to  Barbadoes."     Such  an  origin  was 

not  very  promising ;   but  Anne  Clarges,  when  she 

was  married  to  General  Monk,  upheld  her  position 

despite   her   personal   disadvantages,  for    she   was 

ill-favoured  in  appearance  and  by  no  means  cleanly 

in  her  habits. 

Anne    Clarges    was    married,  in   1632,   to   one 

Thomas   Ratford,  son  to  a  farrier  who  resided  in 

the   Royal    Mews    at    Bloomsbury.      She    had   a 

daughter,  who  was  born  in  1634,  and  died  four  years 

later.     She  had  been  instructed  in  the  trade  of  a 

milliner,  and  this  led  to  her  taking  up  her  abode, 

after  her  marriage,  at  the  Three  Spanish  Gipsies, 

in  the  New  Exchange.     Here  she  sold  wash-balls, 

powder,    gloves,    and    similar    articles,  and    gave 

lessons  to    girls   in  plain   needlework.      In    1647, 

being  then  sempstress  to  Colonel  Monk,  she  was 

in  the  habit  of  carrying  his  linen  to  him.     This  was 

the   beginning  of  her  intimacy  with   the   famous 

soldier.     Her   parents   died  in    1648,   and,  in   the 

following  year,  she  quarrelled   with   her  husband, 

who  apparently  left  her.     At  any  rate,  from  that 
64 


ADAM   STREET,  ADKLPHI. 


I  To  face  p.  64. 


SIR  WILLIAM  CLARGES 

date  nothing  more  was  heard  of  him.     When  Monk 

was   a   prisoner  in  the  Tower — 1644-1646 — Anne 

Ratford  became  his  mistress,  and  had   a   child   of 

which   he   was   the   father — hence,  no   doubt,  the 

reason  of  her  separation  from  her  husband. 

In  an  action  for  trespass,  tried  in  the  Court  of 

King's    Bench,  on   November   15,   1700,    William 

Sherwin  being  the  plaintiff  and  Sir  William  Clarges, 

Bart.,   being  the   chief  defendant,  it  was   proved 

that   Anne    Clarges,    or    Ratford,   was,   in    1652, 

married  in  the  Church  of  St  George,  Southwark, 

to  General  George  Monk,  and  further,  that  in  the 

course  of  the  following  year  she  was  delivered  of 

a  son  (afterwards  the  second  Duke  of  Ablemarle), 

who  was  suckled  by  one  Honour  Mills,  a  vendor  of 

apples,  herbs,  and  oysters.     The  point  of  issue  was 

the   right   and   title   to  the   manor   of   Sutton   in 

Yorkshire,  and  other  lands — the  plaintiff  claiming 

them  as  heir-at-law  and  representative  to  Thomas 

Monk,  elder  brother  to  the  first  duke  of  Albemarle, 

and  the  defendant  as   devisee   under  the   will   of 

Christopher,  the  second  duke.     The  only  material 

point  to   be   decided   was,   whether   Ratford  was 

actually  deceased  at  the  period  of  the  marriage  of 

his  supposed  widow  with  Monk.     On  the  side  of 

the  plaintiff  it  was  sworn  by  one  witness  that  he  had 

seen  Ratford  alive  about  the  month  of  July,  1660, 

as  many  as  eight  years  after  the  second  marriage. 

Another  witness  affirmed  that  he  had  seen  him  as 

5  65 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

late  as  the  year  1665,  and  a  second  time  after  the 
Duke  and  Duchess  of  Albemarle  were  both  dead  ; 
and  thirdly,  a  woman  swore  that  she  had  seen  him 
on  the  very  day  that  his  wife  (then  called  Duchess 
of  Albemarle)  was  placed  in  her  coffin.  On  the 
part  of  the  defendant,  and  in  opposition  to  this 
evidence,  were  alleged  the  material  facts  that 
during  the  lives  of  the  Duke  of  Albemarle  and  his 
son  the  matter  had  never  been  questioned,  and, 
moreover,  that  the  defendant  had  already  thrice 
obtained  verdicts  in  his  favour  in  the  Court  of 
King's  Bench.  Some  other  presumptive  evidence 
was  adduced,  but  of  less  weight.  In  summing  up, 
the  Lord  Chief- Justice  told  the  Jury :  "If  you 
are  certain  that  Duke  Christopher  was  born  while 
Thomas  Ratford  was  living,  you  must  find  for  the 
plaintiff.  If  you  believe  he  was  born  after  Ratford 
was  dead,  or  that  nothing  appears  what  became  of 
him  after  Duke  George  married  his  wife,  you  must 
find  for  the  defendant."  The  verdict  was  in  favour 
of  the  latter.1 

According  to  contemporary  evidence,  the  Duchess 
of  Albemarle  was  a  low,  foul-mouthed  creature,  of 
exceedingly  coarse  habits.  "  Monk,"  says  Lord 
Clarendon  in  his  History,  "  was  cursed,  after  a  long 
familiarity,  to  marry  a  woman  of  the  lowest  ex- 
traction, the  least  wit,  and  less  beauty.  She  was  a 
woman  nihil  muliebris  prceter  corpus  gerens"  one 

1  Jesse,  vol.  iii.,  p.  46. 
66 


DUKE  OF  ALBEMARLE 

who  had  nothing  feminine  but  her  form.     In  the 

opinion   of  Bishop  Burnet,  she  was  a  "  ravenous, 

mean,  and  contemptible  creature,  who  thought  of 

nothing  but  getting  and  spending."     Pepys  could 

not  endure  her.     On  March  8,  1661,  he  met  her 

in  "  high  company,"  and  put  her  down  as  "  even  a 

plain,   homely   dowdy."     On   December   9,    1665, 

Pepys  and  "  my  Lord  Brouncker  "  dined  with  the 

Duke   of  Albemarle.     "At   table   the  duchess,  a 

very  ill-looked  woman,  complaining  of  her  lord's 

going  to  sea  the  next  year,  said  these  cursed  words  : 

1  If  my  Lord   had   been   a   coward   he   had   gone 

to  sea  no  more :   it  may  be  then  he   might   have 

been  excused,  and  made  an  embassador '  (meaning 

my  Lord  Sandwich).     This  made  me  mad,  and  I 

believed    she    perceived   my  countenance   change, 

and  blushed  herself  very  much.     I  was   in   hopes 

others  had  not  minded  it,  but  my  Lord  Brouncker, 

after  we  were  come  away,  took  notice  of  the  words 

to  me  with  displeasure."     In  the   following   year, 

on   November   4,  he   alludes   to   the  duke   as  "  a 

drunken  sot,"  who  "  drinks  with  nobody  but  Trout- 

becke,  whom  nobody  else  will  keep  company  with. 

Of  whom   he   told  me  this  story ;   that  once  the 

Duke  of  Albemarle  in  his  drink,  taking  notice  as 

of  a  wonder  that  Nan  Hide  should  ever  come  to 

be    Duchess   of    York :    '  Nay,'  says   Troutbecke, 

'  ne'er  wonder  at  that ;    for  if  you  will   give   me 

another  bottle  of  wine,  I  will  tell  you  as  great,  if 

67 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

not  greater,  a  miracle.'  And  what  was  that,  but 
that  our  dirty  Besse  (meaning  his  duchesse)  should 
come  to  be  Duchesse  of  Albemarle  ? "  Monk,  it 
was  said,  was  more  in  fear  of  his  wife  than  of  an 
army,  and  it  was  reported  that  she  did  not  hesitate 
to  thrash  him  at  times,  but  the  latter  statement 
is  probably  an  exaggeration.  There  is  no  doubt 
about  her  loyalty  to  the  Royalist  cause ;  she 
exerted  great  influence  over  Monk,  and  urged 
him  immensely  in  his  efforts  in  bringing  about 
the  Restoration.  In  his  Curiosities  of  Literature, 
DTsraeli  cites  a  passage  from  a  manuscript  of  Sir 
Thomas  Browne  which  throws  a  strange  light  on 
Monk's  conduct  in  regard  to  the  Restoration  and 
the  part  played  in  it  by  the  blacksmith's  daughter : 
"  Monk  gave  fair  promises  to  the  Rump ;  but  at 
last  agreed  with  the  French  ambassador  to  take 
the  government  on  himself;  by  whom  he  had 
promise  from  Mazarin  of  assistance  from  France. 
This  bargain  was  struck  late  at  night ;  but  not  so 
secretly  but  that  Monk's  wife,  who  had  posted  her- 
self conveniently  behind  the  hangings,  finding  what 
was  resolved  upon,  sent  her  brother  Clarges  away 
immediately  with  notice  of  it  to  Sir  A.  A.  She 
had  promised  to  watch  her  husband,  and  inform 
Sir  A.  how  matters  stood.  Sir  A.  caused  the 
Council  of  State,  whereof  he  was  a  member,  to  be 
summoned,  and  charged  Monk  that  he  was  playing 

false.     The  General  insisted  that  he  was  true   to 
68 


DUCHESS  OF  ALBEMARLE 

his  principles,  and  firm  to  what  he  had  promised, 
and  that  he  was  ready  to  give  them  all  satisfaction. 
Sir  A.  told  him  if  he  were  sincere  he  would  remove 
all  scruples,  and  would  instantly  take  away  their 
commissions  from  such  and  such  men  in  the  army, 
and  appoint  others,  and  that  before  he  left  the 
room.  Monk  consented  :  a  great  part  of  the  com- 
missions of  his  officers  were  changed ;  and  Sir 
Edward  Harley,  a  member  of  the  Council,  and  then 
present,  was  made  Governor  of  Dunkirk,  in  the 
room  of  Sir  William  Lockhart:  the  army  ceased 
to  be  at  Monk's  devotion:  the  ambassador  was 
recalled,  and  broke  his  heart." 

Another  authority,  Dr  Price,  one  of  Monk's 
chaplains,  speaking  on  the  same  subject,  says  :  "  His 
wife  had  in  some  degree  prepared  him  to  appear, 
when  the  first  opportunity  should  be  offered.  For 
her  custom  was  (when  the  General's  and  her  own 
work  and  the  day  were  ended)  to  come  into  the 
dining-room  in  her  treason-gown,  as  I  called  it,  I 
telling  him  that  when  she  had  that  gown  on  he 
should  allow  her  to  say  anything.  And,  indeed, 
her  tongue  was  her  own  then,  and  she  would  not 
spare  it ;  insomuch  that  I,  who  still  chose  to  give 
my  attendance  at  those  hours,  have  often  shut  the 
dining-room  doors,  and  charged  the  servants  to 
stand  without  till  they  were  called  in."  The  same 
writer  also  relates  a  remarkable  dream,  in   which 

the  Duchess  of  Albemarle  foresaw  the  return   of 

69 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

royalty  to  England.  "  She  saw,"  says  Dr  Price, 
"  a  great  crown  of  gold  on  the  top  of  a  dunghill, 
which  a  numerous  company  of  brave  men  encom- 
passed, but  for  a  great  while  none  would  break  the 
ring.  At  last  there  came  a  tall  black  man  up  to 
the  dunghill,  took  up  the  crown,  and  put  it  upon 
his  head.  Upon  the  relating  of  this,  she  asked 
what  manner  of  man  the  King  was.  I  told  her, 
that  when  I  was  an  Eton  scholar,  I  saw  at  Windsor, 
sometimes,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  at  the  head  of  a 
company  of  boys ;  that  himself  was  a  very  lovely 
black  boy,  and  that  I  heard  that,  since,  he  was 
grown  very  tall."  Fantastic  as  this  dream  story 
may  appear,  it  is  "not  impossible,"  says  Jesse,  "that 
England  owes  the  restoration  of  royalty  to  this 
and  other  similarly  trifling  circumstances  connected 
with  the  influence  which  Anne  Clarges  exercised 
over  the  mind  of  her  uxorious  lord.  Nothing, 
indeed,  appears  more  natural,  than  that  an  ignorant 
and  uneducated  woman  should  have  attached 
an  undue  degree  of  importance  to  an  idle  dream. 
The  duchess,  moreover,  is  known  to  have  been 
a  zealous  adherent  of  the  House  of  Stuart;  and 
lastly,  it  is  certain  that  she  exerted  all  her  influence 
to  induce  him  to  restore  Charles  the  Second  to  the 
throne." 

The   Duke   of  Albemarle   died   on   January  3, 
1670,  in  his  sixty-second  year.     His  body,  after  it 

had  lain  in  state  at  Somerset   House  for  several 
70 


QUACKS  IN  THE  EXCHANGE 

weeks,  was  interred,  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony, 
in  Westminster  Abbey,  on  the  north  side  of  Henry 
the  Seventh's  chapel.  His  wife  survived  him  only 
a  few  days,  and  was  buried  by  his  side.  Their 
only  surviving  son — Christopher,  who  was  born  in 
1653 — succeeded  to  his  father's  titles  and  enor- 
mous wealth.  He  died  in  Jamaica,  where  he 
was  Governor,  in  1688,  without  issue. 

But  to  return  to  the  New  Exchange.  In  Gay's 
Trivia;  or  the  Art  of  Walking  the  Streets  of 
London  (1716),  there  is  an  allusion  to  it: — 

"  The  sempstress  speeds  to  'Change  with  red-tipt  nose ; 
The  Belgian  stove  beneath  her  footstool  glows ; 
In  half-whipt  muslin  needles  useless  lie, 
And  shuttle-cocks  across  the  counter  fly."  1 

The  place  was  on  its  downward  path  at  this  time. 
Quack  doctors  and  other  charlatans  flourished,  and 
the  most  degraded  of  women  frequented  its  walks. 
If  one  may  judge  from  contemporary  advertise- 
ments, "  Sir  William  Read,  Her  Majesty's  oculist 
in  Durham  Yard  in  the  Strand,"  did  a  large  trade 
in  the  years  1709  and  1710.  Thanks  to  his  "long 
practice  and  great  experience,  he  has  lately  found 
out  a  medicine  that  clarifies  the  eyes  from  suffusions 
and  cures  cataracts."  He  also  professed  to  "  cure 
hair  lips  and  wry  necks,  tho'  never  so  deformed." 
Lady  Read  took  in  hand  the  female  customers. 
Their  establishment  was  in  "  New  Exchange  Row, 

1  Book  II.,  verse  337. 

71 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

near  Durham  Yard."  This  William  Read  was 
originally  a  tailor.  He  became  an  itinerant  quack, 
and,  in  1705,  was  knighted  for  "curing"  blind 
sailors  and  soldiers  without  charge.  Thanks  to  his 
appointment  as  oculist  to  Queen  Anne,  he  acquired 
a  fortune.  This  empiric  died  in  1715.  By  1737, 
the  New  Exchange  had  become  so  disreputable 
that  it  was  taken  down,  and  a  number  of  dwelling- 
houses  and  shops — the  site  of  which  is  indicated  by 
the  existing  buildings  between  George  Court  and 
Durham  House  Street — facing  the  Strand,  were 
erected. 

Before  leaving  this  part  of  the  neighbourhood, 
it  should  be  observed  that  at  Durham  Rents, 
which  was  at  the  back  of  Durham  House,  there 
was  a  book-shop  early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  as 
we  see  by  the  following  announcement : — "  The 
Myrroure  of  Owre  Lady,  Fynyshed  and  Imprynted 
in  the  Suburbes  of  the  Famous  Citye  of  London, 
without  Temple  Barre,  by  me  Richard  Fawkes, 
dwellynge  in  Durresme  Rents,  or  else  in  Powles 
Church  Yard,  at  the  Synge  of  the  A. B.C.,  1530." 
On  December  9,  1614,  Thomas  Wilson,  traveller, 
author,  and  statesman,  granted  a  lease  to  James 
Bovy,  Serjeant  of  the  Cellar,  of  "  the  Sill  House, 
in  the  Strand,  near  Durham  House."  And,  on 
October  1,  1618,  there  was  recorded  an  indenture 
of  sale   from  "  Sir  Thomas  Wilson,  of  Hertford, 

now  residing  in  St  Martin-in-the-Fields,  London, 

72 


ADKLPHI  TKRRACE   IX  (lARRICR'S  TIME. 


[To/ace p.  jj 


SIR  THOMAS  WILSON 

of  a  dwelling-house,  garden,  etc.,  in  St  Martin's-in- 
the-Fields,  between  Durham  House,  Britain's  Burse, 
York  House,  and  the  River,  to  Wm.  Roo,  of 
London,  for  £374."  Wilson,  who  was  knighted 
in  this  year,  was  employed  in  obtaining  admissions, 
that  were  sufficient  to  condemn  him,  from  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  then  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower. 
Twenty-eight  days  after  the  date  of  the  indenture 
of  sale  of  Wilson's  property,  near  Durham  House, 
Raleigh  was  executed.  A  year  later,  Sir  Thomas 
Wilson,  in  a  letter  to  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, writes  from  "  my  house  in  Duresme  Yard," 
and  sends  a  list  of  ambassadors  and  other  people 
residing  there.  Wilson,  who  was  a  man  of  con- 
siderable learning,  and  a  traveller,  translated  from 
the  Spanish  the  Diana  of  George  de  Montemayor 
(the  Portugese  poet  and  romance  writer,  1520- 
1562),  the  source  to  which  Shakespeare  went  for 
several  of  the  incidents  in  The  Two  Gentlemen  of 
Verona.  He  entered  the  service  of  Robert  Cecil 
in  1605.  He  was  the  keeper  of  the  records  at 
Whitehall  from  1606  to  the  year  of  his  death, 
1629.  He  is  the  Wilson  referred  as  "ye  keeper 
of  ye  burse,"  quoted  in  the  rules  for  the  New 
Exchange  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

The  overcrowding  of  the  New  Exchange  was  a 
source  of  much  annoyance  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Durham  Yard,  who  made  formal  complaint  of  their 

grievances.      As   a   result,   an   Order  in   Council, 

73 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

dated  May  4,  1638,  was  made  by  the  Inner  Star 
Chamber,  as  follows  : — "  The  Lords  being  made 
acquainted  that,  over  the  New  Exchange,  called 
Britain's  Burse,  there  are  divers  families  inhabiting 
as  inmates,  and  that  adjoining  the  wall  of  the  Court 
of  Durham  House,  there  are  sheds  employed  as 
eating  rooms  and  for  other  uses,  to  the  great 
annoyance  of  the  inhabitants,  and  danger  of  infec- 
tion. It  was  ordered  that  the  Lord  Privy  Seal 
and  Lord  Newburgh,  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy, 
should  call  before  them  the  inhabitants  of  the  said 
places,  and  take  order  for  their  removal,  and  if  they 
find  any  of  the  said  persons  obstinate  should  certify 
their  names." 


74 


CHAPTER  IV 

Enter  the  Brothers  Adam — Their  Marvellous  Transformation  of 
the  Ruins  of  Durham  House  and  Yard  into  the  Present 
Adelphi — The  Magnitude  of  the  Project — Opposition  of 
the  City — Defeated  by  Special  Act  of  Parliament — The 
Adelphi  Buildings  only  completed  by  Aid  of  a  Lottery — 
The  Adams  explain  their  Position — Robert  Adam  :  His 
History — His  Death — James  Adam — Some  Poor  Wit,  in- 
cluding Walpole's,  at  the  Expense  of  the  Architects. 

On  a  certain  night  in  September,  in  the  year  1768, 
"  the  Queen's  Head  Alehouse,  near  Durham  Yard 
in  the  Strand,  fell  down,  but  the  family  being 
alarmed,  happily  no  lives  were  lost."  To  such  a 
neglected  state  had  Durham  Yard  and  its  surround- 
ings become  when,  most  opportunely,  two  Scotch 
architects,  the  brothers  Adam,  arrived  on  the  scene 
of  decay.  All  that  was  left  of  the  former  grandeur 
of  Durham  House  consisted  of  "  a  number  of  small 
low-lying  houses,  coal-sheds  and  lay-stalls,  washed 
by  the  muddy  deposits  of  the  Thames."  The  pro- 
perty was  then  in  the  possession  of  the  Duke  of  St 
Albans,  from  whom  the  brothers  Adam  obtained  a 

ninety-nine  years'  lease,  dating  from  Lady-day,  1768. 

75 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

The  Duke,  it  seems,  was  in  a  parlous  condition  when 
he  parted  with  this  property,  for  the  small  sum,  be 
it  said,  of  £1200  a  year.  For,  in  a  public  print  of 
January  13,  1770,  it  is  stated  that  "  the  Duke  of 
St  Albans,  who  is  now  confined  for  debt  at  Brussels, 
disposed  some  time  ago  of  the  ground  in  Durham 
Yard  in  which  the  new  square  is  now  building ;  but, 
before  the  money  was  remitted  him,  he  created  so 
many  fresh  debts,  that  it  is  imagined  he  will  remain 
there  for  life." 

The  architects  effected  a  marvellous  change  over 
the  district.  By  allowing  the  wharves  to  remain, 
and  throwing  a  series  of  arches  over  the  entire 
declivity,  they  "  connected  the  river  with  the  Strand 
by  a  spacious  archway,  and  over  these  extensive 
vaultings  erected  a  series  of  well-built  streets,  a 
noble  terrace  towards  the  river,  and  a  house  with  a 
convenient  suite  of  rooms  for  the  then  recently 
established  Society  of  Arts."  So  said  Peter 
Cunningham.  Older  authorities  were  even  more 
enthusiastic.  That  fine  architectural  draughtsman, 
Thomas  Malton,  the  younger  (1748-1804),  who  was 
an  eye-witness  of  the  vast  change  effected,  praised 
the  brothers  highly,  in  his  Picturesque  Tour 
through  London  and  Westminster,  in  1792 :  "  To 
their  researches  among  the  vestiges  of  antiquity," 
he  says,  "  we  are  indebted  for  many  improvements 
in  ornamental  architecture,  and  for  a  style  of  de- 
coration unrivalled  for  elegance  and  gaiety,  which, 
76 


THE  ADELPHI 

in  spite  of  innovations  of  fashion,  will  prevail  as 
long  as  good  taste  prevails  in  the  nation.  This 
judgment  of  the  Messrs  Adam,  in  the  management 
of  their  plans,  and  their  care  in  conducting  the 
executive  part,  deserves  great  praise ;  and  it  must 
be  mentioned  to  their  honour,  that  no  accident 
happened  in  the  progress  of  the  work,  nor  has  any 
failure  been  since  observed — an  instance  of  good 
fortune  which  few  architects  have  experienced  when 
struggling  with  similar  difficulties.  This  remark 
will  make  a  very  little  impression  on  the  careless 
observer  who  rattles  along  the  streets  in  his  carriage, 
unconscious  that  below  him  are  the  streets,  in 
which  carts  and  drays,  and  other  vehicles  of  busi- 
ness, are  constantly  employed  in  conveying  coals, 
and  various  kinds  of  merchandise,  from  the  river 
to  the  consumer,  or  to  the  warehouses  and  avenues 
inaccessible  to  the  light  of  day ;  but  he  who  will 
take  the  trouble  to  explore  these  depths  will  feel  its 
force ;  and  when  he  perceives  that  all  the  buildings 
which  compose  the  Adelphi  are  in  front  but  one 
building,  and  that  the  upper  streets  are  no  more 
than  open  passages,  connecting  the  different  parts 
of  the  superstructure,  he  will  acknowledge  that  the 
architects  are  entitled  to  more  than  common 
praise. 

"  The  terrace  is  happily  situated  in  the  heart  of  the 
Metropolis,  upon  a  bend  of  the  river,  which  pre- 
sents to  the  right  and  left   every  eminent   object 

77 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

which  characterises  and  adorns  the  cities  of  London 
and  Westminster ;  while  its  elevation  lifts  the  eye 
above  the  wharfs  and  warehouses  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  and  charms  it  with  a  prospect  of 
the  adjacent  country.  Each  of  these  views  is  so 
grand,  so  rich,  and  so  various,  that  it  is  difficult 
to  determine  which  deserves  the  preference. 

"  The  manner  of  decorating  the  fronts  of  the  shops 
and  houses  in  Adam  Street  is  equally  singular  and 
beautiful.  It  may  be  proper  here  to  remark,  what 
some  future  writer  may  dwell  on  with  pleasure, 
that  in  the  streets  of  the  Adelphi  the  brothers  have 
contrived  to  preserve  their  respective  Christian 
names  as  well  as  their  family  name  ;  while  by  giving 
the  general  appellation  of  The  Adelphi  to  this 
assemblage  of  streets  and  buildings,  they  have  con- 
verted the  whole  into  a  lasting  memorial  of  their 
friendship  and  fraternal  co-operation. 

"  The  building  of  the  Adelphi  was  a  project  of  such 

magnitude,  and  attracted  so  much  attention,  that 

it  must  have  been  a  period  of  the  utmost  importance 

in  the  lives  of  the  architects.     In  this  work  they 

displayed  to  the  public  eye  that  practical  knowledge 

and  skill,  and  that  ingenuity  and  taste,  which  till 

then  had  been  in  a  great  measure  confined  to  private 

edifices,  and  known  only  by  the  voice  of  fame  to 

the  majority  of  those  who  feel  an  interest  in  the  art 

of  building.     The  extreme  depth  of  the  foundations, 

the  massy  piers  of  brickwork,  and  the  spacious 
78 


OPPOSITION  OF  THE  CITY 

subterraneous  vaults  and  arcades,  excited  the 
wonder  of  the  ignorant  and  the  applause  of  the  skil- 
ful ;  while  the  regularity  of  the  streets  in  the  super- 
struction,  and  the  elegance  and  novelty  of  the 
decorations,  equally  astonished  and  delighted  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  people."  The  brothers 
had  to  contend  with  many  difficulties  ere  they 
accomplished  their  great  work.  In  order  to  embank 
the  river,  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  a  special  Act 
of  Parliament  (12  Geo.  III.,  c.  34,  1771).  But, 
the  Court  and  the  City  being  then  at  variance,  the 
authorities  of  the  latter  vented  their  spite  by  oppos- 
ing the  bill,  the  Lord  Mayor,  as  conservator  of  the 
Thames,  claiming  the  right  to  the  soil  of  the  river 
on  behalf  of  the  citizens.  The  opposition  was 
very  strong,  but  it  was  finally  defeated,  thanks,  in 
large  measure,  so  Walpole  states,  to  the  influence 
of  the  Crown.  Much  acrimony  was  displayed,  and 
the  newspaper  press  contained  many  arguments, 
mostly  in  favour  of  the  project.  A  curious  and 
interesting  letter  on  the  subject  appeared  in  the 
Morning  Advertiser  in  May  1771 : — 

"  Sir,"  it  said,  "  I  never  was  more  astonished 
than  upon  reading  in  your  Paper  the  Petition  of 
the  City  of  London  to  His  Majesty  against  his 
giving  the  Royal  Assent  to  the  Bill  for  embanking 
the  River  Thames  at  Durham-Yard,  that  there 
was  not  one  Word  in  this  dull  Performance  against 

the  Propriety  or  Utility  of  the  Embankment.     This 

79 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

was  the  only  Ground  on  which  the  City  had  any 
Title  to  interfere  in  this  Business  by  Virtue  of  their 
Right  of  Conservancy :  But  I  find  that  though  this 
was  what  they  originally  let  out  upon  in  their 
Opposition.  The  Proof  turned  out  so  strong  against 
them,  and  the  public  Utility  of  the  Embankment, 
as  well  as  of  the  Wharfs  at  that  Part  of  the  Town, 
was  so  clearly  demonstrated  both  to  the  Lords  and 
Commons,  that  the  City  in  this  last  Stage  of  their 
Opposition  think  proper  to  pass  over  this  very 
material  Circumstance  in  Silence,  and  are  drove 
to  rest  their  Complaints  upon  two  Circumstances 
totally  new  and  different  from  what  they  originally 
opposed  it  upon. 

"  First,  They  allege  that  this  Bill  appears  to  be 
destructive  of  the  ancient  and  valuable  Rights  and 
Properties  of  the  City  of  London,  enjoyed  without 
Interruption  through  a  Succession  of  many  Ages  ; 
insinuating  at  the  same  Time  that  they  are  denied 
an  Appeal  to  that  Law  which  knows  no  Partialities, 
but  strictly  gives  to  every  Man  his  Due. 

"Now,    Sir,    this    Representation,    if    I    were 

inclined  to  use  as  gross  and  as  harsh  Epithets  as 

the   City  of  London   do,  might   with   very  great 

Truth   be  termed   extremely  false ;   for   I  myself 

heard  Mr  Lee  the  Council  for  the  City  of  London, 

fairly  acknowledge  at  the  Bar  of  the   House   of 

Lords  that  the  City  knew  nothing  of  their  Right 

to  the  Soil  of  the  River  till  within  these  three 
80 


•< 


in 


-1 

B 

— 


s 


THE  PETITION  FAILS 

Weeks ;  for  this  amazing  Discovery  was  fallen 
upon  after  this  Bill  had  made  a  considerable 
Progress  in  the  House  of  Commons ;  and  this 
valuable  Property  had  passed  unnoticed  by  all  the 
Magistrates  of  the  City,  as  well  as  their  Lawyers 
since  the  Age  of  Henry  VII.  though  now  asserted 
to  be  enjoyed  by  them  without  interruption  since 
that  Period :  A  very  bold  Assertion  indeed  after 
so  direct  and  so  satisfactory  a  Proof  of  the  contrary 
had  been  within  these  few  Days  laid  before  the 
House  of  Lords :  Yet  this  Assertion  is  not  more 
extraordinary  than  the  Insinuation  mentioned 
above ;  for  all  the  World  may  be  convinced  how 
groundless  the  latter  is  by  having  Recourse  to  the 
Bill,  in  which  they  will  find  an  express  Clause, 
reserving  to  the  City  a  Liberty  to  try  their  Right 
at  Law,  and  the  Value  to  be  ascertained  by  a 
Jury:  So  very  tender  have  Parliament  been  in 
paying  Attention  to  their  Claim  of  Right,  however 
frivolous  and  weak  it  might  appear  to  them. 

"  A  few  Words  in  the  saving  Clause  is  the 
Foundation  of  the  second  weighty  Complaint  in 
the  City's  Petition  to  the  King,  it  being  there 
asserted  that  the  City  insist  that  the  Persons  who 
apply  for  Liberty  to  embank  ought  to  make 
Satisfaction  for  the  same ;  and  this  Allegation  is 
stigmatised  with  the  severe  Terms  of  groundless, 
false  and  contradictory  to  the  City  public  Declara- 
tions  in   both    Houses   of  Parliament.     Whether 

6  81 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

the  City  have  not  been  rash  in  making  these  bold 
Assertions,  we  leave  the  candid  Public  to  decide, 
after  reading  the  following  Extracts : — 

"  Extract  from  the  Report  of  the  New  Bridge 
Committee,  to  whom  the  Petition  for  Leave  to 
embank  Durham- Yard,  &c,  was  refer'd ;  which 
Report  is  signed  by  Sir  Robert  Ladbroke,  and 
many  others  of  the  most  respectable  Citizens  of 
London,  who,  reported  in  Favour  thereof,  provided 
that  a  Clause  be  obtained,  '  subjecting  the  Ground 
taken  out  of  the  River  with  the  yearly  Payment 
of  a  Farthing,  a  Square  superficial  Foot,  redeem- 
able on  Payment  of  twenty  years  Purchase,  and 
for  appropriating  the  Quit  Rent  and  Purchase 
Money  to  the  Fund  created  by  Parliament  for 
repairing,  lighting,  and  watching  the  Bridge.' 

"  Extract  from  the  Case  of  the  City  of  London 
printed  by  them,  and  handed  about  to  the  Members 
of  the  House  of  Commons.  At  the  second  read- 
ing of  the  Embanking  Bill,  which  concludes  thus  : 
'  However  a  Bill  is  now  brought  in  to  embank  the 
River,  and  to  vest  in  the  Owners  of  the  adjoining 
Houses  the  Soil  to  be  embanked  not  only  against 
the  Representation  of  the  City  of  London,  the 
Conservators  of  the  River,  but  without  any  Regard 
to  their  Claim  or  Right  to  the  Soil  to  be  embanked, 
and  a  Property  of  immense  Value  to  be  taken 
from  the  Public  without  any  Consideration ' :  And 

this  was  the  general  Language  held  by  the  few 

82 


THE  CITY  CENSURED 

Advocates  for  the  City  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
until  a  new  Doctrine  was  broached  by  Mr  Dunning, 
who  discovered  that  this  valuable  Property  could 
not  be  estimated  by  any  Jury  at  above  Five 
Shillings  Value ;  and  to  this  last  Doctrine  the 
Party  have  since  adhered  ;  for  Lord  Camden,  in 
his  Speech  to  the  Lords,  declared,  that  no  Jury 
could  value  the  Soil  embanked  at  one  Farthing; 
and  these  great  Lawyers  are  entirely  right ;  for 
by  the  Usage  of  the  River,  the  Proprietor  of 
every  Wharf  has  an  exclusive  Right  of  Frontage 
or  Water-way  to  Low-water  Mark.  Therefore 
whether  the  King  or  the  City  are  the  Proprietors 
of  the  Soil,  neither  the  one  or  the  other  could  have 
embanked  to  the  Exclusion  of  the  Proprietors  of 
the  adjoining  Wharfs  ;  for  in  this  Event  no  Wharf 
upon  the  River  Thames  would  be  of  the  smallest 
Value ;  consequently  no  Persons  whatever  could 
have  made  any  advantage  of  this  Embankment  but 
the  Parties  to  the  Bill.  If  this  requires  any  Con- 
firmation, the  Bill  obtained  by  the  City  for  the 
Embankment  at  Blackfriars  establishes  it  beyond 
a  Doubt,  for  that  Bill  vests  the  Ground  obtained 
off  the  River  in  the  Proprietors  of  the  adjoining 
Wharfs  and  Houses. 

"When  this  is  thoroughly  understood,  how 
ridiculous  must  the  City  appear,  and  how  much 
do  they  degrade  themselves,  by  carrying  a  Petition 

to    the    Throne,    after    having    squandered    their 

83 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Treasure  in  an  Opposition,  the  Object  of  which  is 
to  acquire  a  Property  not  worth  one  Farthing  to 
them ;  setting  up  an  ostentatious  Parade  of  an 
Infringement  of  that  Property  which  they  knew 
they  have  no  Right  to,  and  if  they  had  ought 
undoubtedly  to  be  given  a  public  Use,  upon  having 
a  proper  Compensation  allowed  them  for  it,  which 
is  done  every  Day  in  Cases  of  Roads,  Navigations, 
and  other  Improvements  of  public  Utility,  even 
where  private  Individuals  are  to  be  the  principal 
Benefactors. 

"  A  great  City  ought  not  to  act  the  Part  of 
the  Dog  in  the  Manger,  but  should  encourage 
every  Scheme  of  public  Advantage.  These 
formerly  have  been  the  Sentiments  of  the  City 
of  London,  when  that  City  was  under  the  Guidance 
of  grave,  respectable  and  wise  Magistrates,  not 
heated  by  Party,  or  misguided  by  violent  or 
factious  Views."  The  storm  raised  by  the  pro- 
jected building  drew  from  Granville  Sharp,  the 
philanthropist,  a  curious,  but  extremely  dry, 
pamphlet  entitled  Remarks  Concerning  the 
Encroachments  of  the  River  Thames  near  Durham 
Yard.  It  was  dated  from  the  Old  Jewry, 
August  10,  1771,  but  it  was  too  late  to  be  of 
any  service,  for  the  Act  allowing  the  embankment 
of  the  river  had  been  passed. 

Even  then  misfortune  dogged  the  footsteps  of 

the  courageous  brothers,  for  they  became  involved 
84 


AN  ACT  OF  PARLIAMENT 

in  financial  difficulties,  and  eventually  had  to  com- 
plete their  buildings  by  raising  money  by  means  of 
a  public  lottery.  Some  of  these  difficulties  were 
alluded  to  by  sympathetic  friends  in  the  press. 
"  The  Adelphi  buildings,"  one  of  them  hears,  "  were 
mortgaged  for  a  loan  of  £70,000  previous  to  the 
late  unhappy  failures  of  the  banks,  and  it  is  said 
that  the  Messrs  Adam  had  laid  out  as  much  more 
upon  them ;  so  that,  in  the  course  of  five  years, 
these  gentlemen  expended  £140,000  to  raise 
palaces  upon  an  offensive  heap  of  mud,  and  circu- 
lated an  immense  sum  to  make  a  palpable  nuisance 
a  principal  ornament  to  the  metropolis."  Another 
defender  wrote  in  a  similar  strain  :  "  Within  a  space 
of  time,  incredibly  short  for  so  magnificent  an 
undertaking,  they  have  raised  a  pile  of  elegant 
buildings,  noble,  convenient,  and  splendid,  on  a 
spot  which  was,  two  or  three  years  since,  a  mere 
dunghill,  a  receptacle  for  filth,  obscenity,  and 
wretchedness,  a  scandal  to  a  well-governed  city 
and  a  disgrace  to  one  of  the  noblest  rivers  in 
Europe." 

Thanks,  perhaps,  to  the  publicity  thus  afforded 
them  in  the  public  press,  the  brothers  Adam  ob- 
tained the  necessary  Act  of  Parliament  (13  Geo. 
III.,  cap.  75,  1773)  for  the  disposal  of  the  property 
by  lottery.  It  was  as  follows  :  — "  An  Act  for 
enabling  John,  Robert,  James  and  William  Adam 

to  dispose  of  several  houses  and  buildings  in  the 

85 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 


parishes  of  St  Martin-in-the-Fields  and  St  Mary- 
le-Bow,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  and  other  their 
effects  by  way  of  chance  in  such  manner  as  may 
be  most  for  the  benefit  of  themselves  and  creditors." 
There  were  4370  tickets  at  £50,  making 
£218,500.  The  prizes  numbered  108,  and  were 
thus  arranged 

.       £50,080 
39,950 
29,980 
19,980 
9,960 
4,960 
00   of  different   values  from 
£100  to  £760        .  .  .  33,500 

The    first    drawn    ticket   was 

entitled  to   .         .         .         .  5,000 

The  last  drawn  to    .         .         .         25,090 

£218,500 

The  above  facts  are  taken  from  a  rare  pamphlet, 
entitled  Particulars  composing  the  Prizes  in  the 
Adelphi  Lottery,  published  by  the  Adams  on 
January  18,  1774,  in  which  it  is  stated  that,  "as 
the  Messrs  Adam  engaged  in  this  undertaking, 
more  from  an  enthusiasm  of  their  own  art  than 
from  a  view  of  profit ;  at  the  same  time  being 
eager  to  point  out  a  way  to  public  utility,  though 
even  at  an  extraordinary  expence ;  they  will  be 
perfectly  satisfied  if  they  should    only  draw,  from 

this   lottery,  the   money  laid   out   by  them   on   a 

86 


THE  ADELPH1  LOTTERY 

work  which,  they  readily  confess,  they  have  found 
to  be  too  great  for  their  private  fortunes.  .  .  . 
The  Messrs  Adam  have  thought  it  unnecessary 
to  give  so  particular  a  description  of  the  houses  in 
the  Adelphi  as  they  have  done  of  the  houses  in 
Queen  Anne  Street  and  Mansfield  Street,  as  these 
buildings  are  so  generally  known  by  persons  who 
reside  in  town ;  but  for  the  information  of  those 
who  live  in  the  country,  it  may  be  satisfactory  to 
say,  that  they  are  remarkably  strong  and  sub- 
stantial and  finished  in  the  most  elegant  and 
complete  manner,  much  beyond  the  common 
stile  of  London  houses :  they  have  all  a  double 
tier  of  offices,  which  gives  an  uncommon  con- 
venience for  the  servants  of  the  family.  .  .  .  The 
inhabitants  of  the  Adelphi  buildings  express  the 
greatest  satisfaction,  not  only  with  regard  to  their 
houses,  but  with  their  situation,  which  is  remark- 
ably dry,  healthy  and  well-aired. 

"  The  principal  houses  in  the  Adelphi  possess  not 
only  a  superior  degree  of  convenience,  in  water 
laid  in,  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  each  house, 
but  the  whole  buildings  have  also  an  additional 
safety  against  fire,  much  beyond  any  other  houses 
in  London.  For,  besides  the  use  of  fire  engines, 
which  they  have  in  common  with  other  houses, 
there  is  a  water  tower  erected  by  the  Messrs 
Adam,     which     communicates     with     the     river 

Thames ;   and  the  pipes  are  so  constructed,  that 

87 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

upon  a  minute's  notice,  three  engines,  constantly 
supplied  with  water,  can  be  played  upon  any 
house  in  the  buildings." 

In  addition  to  the  house  property  enumerated, 
pictures  and  drawings  by  Teniers,  P.  Veronese, 
and  Guercino,  together  with  several  statues,  were 
enumerated  in  the  lottery  paper,  so  that  it  appears 
that  the  Adams  had  been  compelled  to  put  nearly 
everything  they  possessed  into  the  fund  for  the 
building  of  the  Adelphi.  Fortunately  they  were 
in  such  favour  at  Court  that  they  were  able  to 
obtain  the  necessary  permission  for  the  lottery, 
otherwise  they  would  have  been  ruined  financially 
over  the  speculation. 

On  Thursday,  March  3,  1774,  the  drawing 
up  of  the  lottery  began  at  the  great  room, 
formerly  Jonathan's  Coffee  House,  in  Exchange 
Alley,  when  No.  3599  was  drawn  a  blank,  but  being 
the  first  drawn  ticket  it  was  entitled  to  £5000. 
Nine  other  prizes  were  drawn  on  Friday,  and  at 
this  rate  the  drawing  continued  for  some  time. 
The  newspapers  of  the  period  were  full  of  informa- 
tion and  advertisements  respecting  the  lottery ; 
and  the  art  of  advertising  appears  to  have  been 
very  thoroughly  mastered  at  that  time.  Tickets 
were  sold  in  all  parts  of  the  town,  as  well  as  at  the 
Messrs  Adams'  office  in  Robert  Street ;  intending 
purchasers    were    told    that    there    was    a    great 

demand  and  that  early  application  was  necessary — 

88 


< 


f. 


r. 


THE  ADELPHI  PRIZES 

in  fact,  that  the  demand  began  to  be  prodigious. 
Then  they  were  informed  that  "  Messrs  Adam  pro- 
pose to  keep  their  office  in  the  Adelphi  open  till 
twelve  o'clock  on  Wednesday  night  next  (March  9) 
for  the  sale  of  tickets  at  £50  each,  after  which  the 
price  of  the  small  quantity  remaining  in  the 
market  must  be  considerably  raised,  on  account  of 
the  consumption  of  tickets  by  the  wheel."  Portions 
of  tickets  were  sold  at  the  various  lottery  offices 
thus — a  half  cost  £25,  5s. ;  a  thirty-second,  £l,  13s. ; 
and  a  sixty-fourth,  17s.  Then  there  are  little  bits 
of  gossip  in  the  papers,  intended  to  whet  the 
appetite  of  the  public.  Thus  we  are  told  that 
No.  3599,  the  first  drawn  ticket,  entitled  to  an 
estate  of  the  value  of  £5000,  was  sold  by  Messrs 
Richardson  and  Goodenough  not  half  an  hour 
before  the  lottery  began  drawing,  and,  what  is  very 
remarkable,  was  the  only  ticket  they  had  left 
unsold.  Soon  afterwards,  the  winner  of  this  ticket 
disposed  of  it  by  auction. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  prizes  were  not 
instantly  realizable,  for  the  buildings  were  to  be 
divided  among  the  prize-holders,  and  the  houses 
were  not  yet  finished.  Those  who  could  not 
wait  for  their  money  sold  their  prizes  by  auction, 
and  it  may  be  presumed  that  in  course  of  time  the 
tickets  got  into  a  few  hands.1  The  following  is 
the  explanation  by  the  A  dams  of  their  action  : — 

1   The  Adelphi  and  Its  Site,  1885. 

89 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

"The  Messrs  Adam  having  received  a  letter  signed 
A. B.C.,  which  the  writer  says  is  sent  to  be  inserted 
in  the  public  papers,  requiring  to  know  the  state  of 
the  mortgages  on  the  buildings  which  constitute 
the  Adelphi  lottery,  and  also  what  security  the 
public  have  for  their  completing  the  unfinished 
buildings  ?  In  answer  to  these  questions,  the 
Messrs  Adam,  desirous  to  satisfy  the  adventurers 
in  the  lottery,  and  the  public  in  all  reasonable 
demands,  think  it  necessary  to  inform  them  that 
the  mortgagees  have  already  been  paid  one  half  of 
their  money,  but  as  it  is  requisite  that  they  should 
join  in  assigning  the  prizes  to  the  fortunate 
adventurers,  they  defer  paying  the  other  half  till 
such  assignments  are  completed.  The  Messrs 
Adam,  ever  since  the  obtaining  of  the  Act  for 
their  lottery,  have  proceeded  with  an  amazing 
rapidity  in  finishing  their  houses,  in  the  same 
substantial  manner  with  those  formerly  finished 
and  sold  in  the  Adelphi ;  they  are  happy  to  think 
the  whole  will  be  completed,  and  ready  to  be 
assigned,  by  the  time  they  have  ascertained  in 
their  scheme  and  allotment,  as  no  attention  and  no 
expense  shall  be  spared  for  that  purpose." 

Before  proceeding  further  with  the  history  of  the 

Adelphi,  the  indomitable  brothers  themselves  call 

for  notice.     Robert   Adam    (1728-1792)    was   the 

most   noted   of  the  four  brothers — John,  Robert, 

James,    and     William.       Their     father,    William 
90 


ROBERT  ADAM 

Adam,  of  Maryburgh,  N.B.  (died  June  24,  1748), 

was   the  architect   of    Hopetoun    House,  and  the 

Royal    Infirmary,    Edinburgh,    in    which    city   he 

held  the  appointment  of  King's  Mason.     Robert, 

the  second  son,  was  born  at  Kirkcaldy,  and  educated 

at   Edinburgh    University.      Here  he  became   on 

friendly  terms  with  several   fellow   students   who 

also   attained   fame,   including   David  Hume,  Dr 

William   Robertson  (the  historian),  Adam   Smith 

(the  political  economist),  and  Adam  Ferguson  (the 

philosopher).     In    his    twenty-sixth    year    Robert 

Adam  visited  Italy  in  the  company  of  Clerisseau, 

a  French  architect,  and  made  a  minute  study  of  the 

ruins  of  the  Emperor  Diocletian's  palace  at  Spalatro, 

in  Venetian   Dalmatia.     The  journal   of  his   tour 

was  printed  in  the  Library  of  the  Fine  Arts,  and, 

in  1764,  he  published  a  folio  volume  with  numerous 

engravings   by    Bartolozzi    and    others,    from    his 

drawings  of  the  palace.     In  this  important   work 

he  states  that  his  object  in  selecting  this  ruin  for 

special  examination  was  its  residential  character,  as 

the  knowledge  of  classical  architecture  in  England 

was  derived  exclusively  from  the  remains  of  public 

buildings.     During  his  absence  on  the  Continent, 

he  was  elected  F.R.S.  and  F.S.A.     Soon  after  his 

return,  he  was  appointed  architect  to  George  III. 

This  office  he  was  obliged  to  resign  in  1768,  when 

he    was   elected   to    Parliament    as    member    for 

Kinross-shire. 

91 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

The  date  of  Robert  Adam's  return  to  England 

is  generally  understood  to  be  1762,  but  the  architect 

himself  makes  mention  of  some  work  "  done  since 

my  return  to  England  in  1758."     The  mistake  has 

probably  arisen  from  the  fact  that   James   Adam 

did  not  leave  his  architectural  studies  in  Italy  until 

the  former  year.     Robert,  it  is   certain,  is   solely 

responsible    for    the    screen     of    the     Admiralty 

buildings    in    Whitehall,    built    in    1760.      "The 

Admiralty,"   says    Horace    Walpole,    "  is    a    most 

ugly  device,  and  deservedly  veiled  by  Mr  Adam's 

handsome   screen."      About   this   time   there   was 

a   pacific  invasion  of  England   by  the   Scots,  art 

being   represented   by   William    Chambers,    Allan 

Ramsay — son    of   the    poet — who,    in    Walpole's 

opinion,  excelled  Reynolds  as  a  painter  of  women, 

Robert  Strange,  and   the  Adam  brothers,  Robert 

and  James.     Mr  Clouston  doubts  the   statement 

that   Clerisseau    accompanied    Robert    Adam    to 

Italy.     The   young   French   architect  was  famous 

at  the  time  of  Adam's  visit  to  the  Continent,  "  and 

one  of  his  pupils,  Sir  W.  Chambers,  was  making 

a  name  in  England.     It  is  not  altogether  evident, 

therefore,    how,    a    year    later,    he    should    have 

accompanied  Adam  to  Spalatro  in  the  subordinate 

position  of  assistant.     Still,  if  any  man  had   the 

capability  of  turning  a  master  into  a  pupil  through 

sheer  force  of  character  and  magnetic  presence,  it 

must    be    admitted    that    that    man    was    Robert 
92 


ROBERT  ADAM 

Adam.  His  belief  in  himself  was  so  colossal  as 
probably  to  approach  conceit.  The  very  fact  that, 
as  a  young  man  of  twenty -nine,  who  had  already 
had  a  most  expensive  education,  he  spent  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  his  patrimony  in  a  costly 
expedition,  with  the  view  of  publishing  a  book 
which  could  not  be  expected  to  pay,  is  enough 
to  show  us  something  of  the  character  of  the 
man. 

"  He  had  made  up  his  mind  that  he  was  to  take 
the  world  by  storm,  and  he  proceeded  to  do  so 
with  the  most  absolute  confidence,  in  spite  of  dis- 
advantages of  which  he  must  have  been,  at  least 
partially,  aware. 

"  In  his  day  in  Scotland,  and,  indeed,  for  long 
after,  the  speech  of  even  the  most  educated  was 
as  a  foreign  language  to  English  ears.  Anything 
'  Englishy '  in  accent  was  ridiculed.  So  much  was 
this  the  case  that  when,  towards  the  end  of  the 
century,  certain  Scottish  advocates,  who  found 
their  accent  a  serious  drawback  when  arguing 
before  the  House  of  Lords,  employed  an  '  English 
master,'  the  movement  was  laughed  out  of 
existence. 

"Adam    may   have   been   able   to   speak   fairly 

fluently  in  both   French  and   Italian :    but   if  his 

ordinary   mode   of  speech   was,  as   it   must   have 

been,    broad     Fifeshire     with     a    top-dressing    of 

Midlothian,    it    could    not    have    constituted    the 

93 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

best  introduction  to  London  society.  Yet  from 
the  first  he  was  both  a  social  and  a  professional 
success,  and  his  immediate  reception,  despite  his 
Scotch  speech  and  his  new  gospel,  says  more  for 
the  immense  power  and  personality  of  the  man 
than  any  number  of  words.  Other  men,  even 
greater  than  he,  have  had  both  reverses  and  doubts 
about  themselves.  Adam  had  neither.  He  was 
born  to  succeed,  and  he  knew  it.  Even  his  book 
on  the  Palace  at  Spalatro,  instead  of  being  an 
expensive  way  of  bringing  him  before  the  public, 
was  a  great  commercial  success." 1 

Thanks  to  their  building  of  Lansdowne  House 
for  the  Earl  of  Bute,  and  Caen  Wood  House, 
Hampstead,  for  Lord  Mansfield,  as  well  as  to 
the  fame  which  they  obtained  by  the  Adelphi, 
Robert  and  James  Adam  acquired  a  great  reputa- 
tion as  classical  architects,  and  they  enjoyed  the 
patronage  of  the  aristocracy.  Amongst  the  most 
important  of  their  other  works  were  Luton  House 
in  Bedfordshire ;  Osterley  House,  near  Brentford  ; 
Keddlestone,  Derbyshire ;  Compton  Verney,  War- 
wickshire ;  the  screen  fronting  the  high  road,  and 
extensive  internal  alterations  of  Sion  or  Syon 
House,  Middlesex,  the  seat  of  the  Duke  of  North- 
umberland ;  the  infirmary  of  Glasgow ;  the  parish 
church  at  Mistley,   Essex ;    the   Register  House, 

1  English  Furniture  and  Furniture  Matters  of  the  1 8th  Century. 
R.  S.  Clouston,  1906,  pp.  84-86. 
94 


THE  BROTHERS  ADAM 

Edinburgh ;  and  the  Admiralty  screen.  The 
number  and  importance  of  their  buildings  in 
the  metropolis  materially  influenced  and  much 
improved  the  street  architecture  of  London.  They 
originated  the  idea  of  giving  to  a  number  of  un- 
important private  edifices  the  appearance  of  one 
imposing  structure.  Portland,  Stratford,  and 
Hamilton  Places,  and  the  south  and  east  sides  of 
Fitzroy  Square,  are  instances  of  the  manner  in 
which  they  carried  this  principle  into  effect.  "  An 
innovation  of  more  doubtful  service,"  according  to 
the  Dictionary  of National  Biography,  "was  their 
use  of  stucco  in  facing  brick  houses.  Their  right 
to  the  exclusive  use  of  a  composition  patented  by 
Liardet,  a  Frenchman,  was  the  subject  of  two  law- 
suits, which  they  gained." 

James  Fergusson,  in  his  History  of  Archi- 
tecture, places  their  knowledge  of  classical  art 
below  that  of  Sir  William  Chambers.  He  adds  : 
"  Their  great  merit — if  merit  it  be — is  that  they 
stamped  their  works  with  a  certain  amount  of 
originality,  which,  had  it  been  of  a  better  quality, 
might  have  done  something  to  emancipate  art  from 
its  trammels.  The  principal  characteristic  of  their 
style  was  the  introduction  of  very  large  windows, 
generally  without  dressings.  These  they  frequently 
attempted  to  group,  three  or  more  together,  by  a 
great  glazed  arch  over  them,  so  as  to  try  and  make 

the    whole   side  of  a  house  look  like  one  room." 

95 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHT 

Mr  Fergusson  thinks  the  college  at  Edinburgh 
the  best  of  their  works,  and  says :  "  We  possess  few 
public  buildings  presenting  so  truthful  and  well- 
balanced  a  design  as  this." 

Whatever  were  the  architectural  defects  of  their 
works,  the  brothers  formed  a  style,  which  was 
marked  especially  in  their  interiors  by  a  fine  sense 
of  proportion,  and  a  very  elegant  taste  in  the 
selection  and  disposition  of  niches,  lunettes,  reliefs, 
festoons,  and  other  classical  ornaments.  It  was 
their  custom  to  design  furniture  in  character  with 
their  apartments,  and  their  works  of  this  kind  are 
still  greatly  prized.  Amongst  them  may  be 
specially  mentioned  their  side-boards  with  elegant 
urn-shaped  knife-boxes,  but  they  also  designed 
bookcases  and  brackets,  pedestals  and  cabinets, 
clock-cases  and  candelabra,  mirror  frames  and 
console  tables,  of  singular  and  original  merit, 
adapting  classical  forms  to  modern  uses  with  a 
success  unrivalled  by  any  other  designers  of  furniture 
in  England.  They  designed,  also,  carriages  and 
plate,  and  a  sedan  chair  for  Queen  Charlotte.  Of 
their  decorative  work  generally  it  may  be  said  that 
it  was  rich  but  neat,  refined  but  not  effeminate, 
chaste  but  not  severe,  and  that  it  will  probably 
have  quite  as  lasting  and  beneficial  effect  upon 
English  taste  as  their  architectural  structures. 

In  1773,  the  brothers  Robert  and  James  com- 
menced the  publication  of  their  Works  on  Archi- 
96 


•< 


X 


5 


r. 

r- 


x 


JAMES  ADAM 

tecture,  in  folio  parts,  which  was  continued  at 
intervals  till  1778,  and  reached  the  end  of  the 
second  volume.  In  1822,  the  work  was  completed 
by  the  posthumous  publication  of  a  third  volume, 
but  the  three  bound  up  together  do  not  make  a 
thick  book.1 

Robert  Adam  also  obtained  some  reputation  as 
a  landscape  painter.  As  an  architect,  he  was 
extensively  employed  to  the  last.  In  the  year 
preceding  his  death  he  designed  no  less  than  eight 
public  works  and  twenty-five  private  buildings. 
He  died  at  his  house  in  Albemarle  Street,  from 
the  bursting  of  a  blood-vessel  in  his  stomach,  on 
March  3,  1792.  Of  the  social  position  he  attained, 
and  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held,  no  greater 
proof  can  be  afforded  than  the  record  of  his  funeral 
in  Westminster  Abbey.  His  pall-bearers  were 
the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  the  Earl  of  Coventry, 
the  Earl  of  Lauderdale,  Viscount  Stormont,  Lord 
Frederick  Campbell,  and  Richard  Pulteney  (the 
botanist). 

His  younger  brother,  James,  died  in  the  same 
street,  on  October  20,  two  years  later,  from 
apoplexy.  His  work  was  so  closely  connected 
with  that  of  Robert  as  to  be  practically  un- 
distinguishable.  It  is  thought,  by  many,  that  he 
was  solely  responsible  for  the  design  of  Portland 
Place.     At  one  time  he  was  architect  to  George 

1  Dictionary  of  National  Biography,  vol.  i.,  p.  88. 

7  97 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

III.,  and  was  master  mason  to  the  Board  of 
Ordnance  in  North  Britain.  He  published 
Practical  Essays  on  Architecture,  and,  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  he  was  engaged  on  a  history  of 
architecture.  The  eldest  brother,  John,  inherited 
the  business  of  the  father,  and  remained  in  Scot- 
land. William  Adam  is  said  to  have  died  in  1748, 
in  which  case  he  could  hardly  have  "assisted  his 
brother  Robert  in  building  the  Adelphi "  [Diet,  of 
Nat.  Biography). 

And  Walpole,  writing  to  Mason  on  July  29, 
1773,  says:  "What  are  the  Adelphi  Buildings? 
Warehouses,  laced  down  the  seams,  like  a  soldier's 
frill  in  a  regimental  old  coat."  Yet  the  author  of 
The  Castle  of  Otranto  did  not  disdain  from  asking 
Robert  Adam  to  design  a  room  for  him. 

Apart  from  their  financial  troubles  in  building 
the  Adelphi,  the  Adams  brothers  had  to  stand 
much  banter.  It  was  said,  with  what  truth  I 
know  not,  that  they  obtained  their  workmen, 
"  with  true  patriotism,"  from  Scotland,  and  that 
the  labours  of  the  artisans  were  stimulated  by 
countless  bagpipes ;  "  but  the  canny  men,  finding 
the  bagpipes  played  their  tunes  rather  too  quick, 
threw  up  the  work,  and  Irishmen  were  then 
employed."  In  the  Foundling  Hospital  for 
Wit,1  the  nationality  of  the  architects  is  rudely 
assailed : — 

1  Ed.  1784,  vol.  iv.,  p.  189- 
98 


UNMERITED  SATIRE 

"  Four  Scotchmen,  by  the  name  of  Adams, 
Who  keep  their  coaches  and  their  madams, 
Quoth  John,  in  sulky  mood,  to  Thomas, 
Have  stole  the  very  river  from  us  ! 
O  Scotland,  long  has  it  been  said, 
Thy  teeth  are  sharp  for  English  bread  ; 
What !  seize  our  bread  and  water  too, 
And  use  us  worse  than  jailors  do  : 
'Tis  true,  'tis  hard  ;  'tis  hard,  'tis  true. 

Ye  friends  of  George,  and  friends  of  James, 

Envy  us  not  our  River  Thames ; 

Thy  Princess,  fond  of  raw-boned  faces, 

May  give  you  all  our  posts  and  places  ; 

Take  all  to  gratify  your  pride, 

But  dip  your  oatmeal  in  the  Clyde." 


99 


CHAPTER  V 

The  Society  of  Arts — Its  Foundation — Its  Removal  to  the 
Adelphi  in  1774 — James  Barry  and  his  Famous  Paintings — 
Visited  in  John  Street  by  Burke  and  Johnson — The  Latter's 
opinion  of  his  Genius — Description  of  his  Pictures  for  the 
Society — The  Work  of  the  Society — "Spot"  Ward,  the 
Inventor  of  "  Friar's  Balsam  " — Johnson  speaks  in  the  Great 
Room — Forsaken  by  his  "  Flowers  of  Oratory." 

Inseparably  connected  with  the  romance  of  the 
Adelphi,  and  very  interesting  on  its  own  account, 
is  the  history  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  with  its 
memories,  not  only  of  painters,  but  of  Johnson 
and  other  celebrities.  The  Society  owes  its  origin 
to  William  Shipley  (1714-1803),  a  drawing-master 
of  Northampton,  and  brother  of  Jonathan  Shipley, 
Bishop  of  St  Asaph,  the  friend  of  Benjamin 
Franklin.  It  was  established  at  a  meeting  held 
on  March  22,  1754,  at  Rawthmell's  Coffee-house, 
in  Henrietta  Street,  Co  vent  Garden.  Its  first 
president  was  Jacob,  Lord  Viscount  Folkestone. 
Its  complete  designation  is  "  The  Society  for  the 
Encouragement  of  Arts,  Manufactures  and  Com- 
merce." Smollett,  in  his  History  of  England 
100 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  ARTS 

(1757),  says,  somewhat  grandiloquently:  "The 
Society  is  so  numerous,  the  contributions  so  con- 
siderable, the  plan  so  judiciously  laid,  and  executed 
with  such  discretion  and  spirit  as  to  promise  much 
more  effectual  and  extensive  advantage  to  the 
public  than  ever  accrued  from  all  the  boasted 
academies  of  Christendom."  The  Society  had 
various  homes  prior  to  settling  in  the  Adelphi. 
Its  first  meetings  were  held  over  a  circulating 
library  in  Crane's  Court,  Fleet  Street.  A  move 
was  made  westward  to  Craig's  Court,  Charing 
Cross,  and  from  there  the  Society  went  to  the 
Strand,  in  rooms  opposite  the  New  Exchange, 
and,  in  1759,  to  apartments  in  Beaufort  Buildings, 
Savoy. 

In  1771,  the  brothers  Adam  entered  into  an 
agreement  with  the  Society  for  the  erection  of 
"  a  proper  building  in  the  Adelphi  for  the  use  of 
the  Society  and  the  accommodation  of  its  officers." 
The  first  stone  was  laid  by  Lord  Romney,  on  March 
28,  1772,  and  the  building  was  opened  in  1774. 
The  Great  Room,  in  which  are  the  six  famous 
pictures  painted  by  James  Barry,  R.A.  (1741-1806), 
between  the  years  1777  and  1783,  is  44  feet  in 
width,  60  feet  in  depth,  and  48  feet  in  height. 
The  painting  of  these  celebrated  pictures  is  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  episodes  in  the  history 
of  art.     In  1774,  the  Society  of  Arts  suggested  to 

certain   members   of   the    Royal    Academy — then 

101 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

newly  instituted — that  they  should  paint  the 
interior  of  the  Great  Room,  and  that  they  should 
be  reimbursed  by  the  public  exhibition  of  the 
completed  works.  This  proposition  was  rejected 
by  the  academicians,  at  whose  head  was  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  and  Barry,  as  a  member,  refused  the 
offer.  Three  years  later,  however,  Barry,  having 
but  sixteen  shillings  in  his  pocket,  applied  for 
permission  to  execute  the  work,  unaided,  and 
without  remuneration.  The  Society's  housekeeper 
told  Benjamin  Haydon,  the  historical  painter 
(1786-1846),  that  she  remembered  Barry  at  work 
on  his  frescoes.  His  violence,  she  said,  was  dread- 
ful, his  oaths  were  horrid,  and  his  temper  was  like 
insanity.  In  summer,  he  started  painting  at  five 
o'clock,  worked  until  dark,  and  then  etched  by 
lamp-light  until  eleven  at  night.  Burke  and 
Johnson  called  once.  But  no  artist  dared  to  brave 
his  wrath.  He  had  his  tea  boiled  in  a  quart  pot, 
dined  on  porridge,  and  drank  milk  for  supper.  So 
poor  was  the  painter  that  he  applied,  but  in  vain, 
to  the  Society  for  a  little  money,  and  "  an  insolent 
secretary  even  objected  to  his  charge  for  colours 
and  models."  Subsequently,  the  Society  relented 
and  advanced  the  artist  a  hundred  pounds.  The 
Society  "afterwards  indulged  him  with  two 
exhibitions  of  his  paintings,  in  1783  and  1784, 
which  brought  him  £503,  12s.,  the  Society  paying 

the   cost   of  the  exhibitions,  which  amounted  to 
102 


JONAS  HANWAY 

£174."  He  was  also  "rewarded"  by  the  Society 
with  a  gold  medal.  But  he  had  other,  and, 
perhaps,  more  pleasing  recognitions  of  his  talent. 
That  sturdy  traveller  and  philanthropist,  Jonas 
Hanway  (1712-1786),  came  to  one  of  the  exhibi- 
tions, and  the  pioneer  of  the  umbrella  was  so 
pleased  that  he  insisted  upon  leaving  a  guinea 
instead  of  the  customary  shilling.  The  Prince  of 
Wales  gave  Barry  sittings,  and  Lord  Aldborough 
declared  that  the  painter  had  "  surpassed  Raphael." 
Lord  Romney  gave  him  a  hundred  guineas  for 
a  copy  of  the  heads,  and  Dr  Johnson  thought 
highly  of  Barry's  imaginative  powers.  "  Whatever 
the  hand  may  have  done,"  he  said  to  Boswell, 
"  the  mind  has  done  its  part.  There  is  a  grasp  of 
mind  there  which  you  find  nowhere  else."  Poor, 
neglected,  and  half-mad,  Barry  died  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five.  His  body  lay  in  state  in  the  Great 
Room  on  March  7.     He  was  buried  in  St  Paul's. 

Some  sixty  years  ago,  said  a  writer  towards  the 
middle  of  the  last  century,  there  might  have  been 
seen  daily  passing  in  a  direction  between  Oxford 
Street  and  the  Adelphi,  for  years  together,  and 
through  all  kinds  of  weather,  one  whose  appearance 
told,  to  even  the  most  casual  observer,  he  looked 
upon  a  remarkable  man.  Referring  to  himself,  in 
one  of  his  letters  to  a  friend,  Barry  had  once  said, 
"  Though  the  body  and  the  soul  of  a  picture  will 

discover  themselves  on  the  slightest  glance,  yet  you 

103 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

know  it  could  not  be  the  same  with  such  a  pock- 
fretted,  hard-featured  little  fellow  as  I  am  also  " ; 
but  neither  these  personal  characteristics,  nor  the 
mean  garb  in  which  he  usually  appeared,  could 
conceal  the  earnestness  stamped  upon  his  grave, 
saturnine  countenance,  or  the  air  of  entire  absorp- 
tion in  some  mental  pursuit,  having  little  in  common 
with  the  bustle  of  the  everyday  business  of  the 
world  around  him.  He  was  a  man  to  make  or  to 
keep  few  friends,  and  to  shun  all  acquaintances ;  it 
was  not  often,  therefore,  that,  in  these  passages  to 
and  fro,  he  had  any  companion ;  but  the  event  was 
noticeable  when  he  had,  from  the  striking  change 
in  his  demeanour.  He  became  full  of  animation, 
and  of  a  kind  of  sparkling  cheerfulness  ;  his  con- 
versation was  at  once  frank,  weighty,  and  elevating, 
and  even  the  oaths,  with  which  he  made  somewhat 
free,  could  not  spoil  the  delight  of  the  most  fastidious 
censor  of  words,  whilst  borne  along  on  the  full  and 
free  current  of  the  painter's  thoughts.  No  one  but 
himself  at  such  times  would  have  called  his  counten- 
ance "  hard-featured  "  ;  its  smile  was  inexpressibly 
sweet,  its  look  of  scorn  or  anger,  when  roused, 
such  as  few  men  could  have  met  unmoved.  But 
what  was  the  employment  that  thus  determined  for 
so  long  a  period  his  daily  movements  ?  The  answer 
will  require  a  brief  review  of  his  past  career. 
Whilst  a  young  student  at  Rome,  Barry,  annoyed 

by  the  absurd  taunts  of  foreigners  as  to  the  un- 
104 


- 


Wathaniel  Smith. 


HE  STRAND  ENTRANCE  TO  DURHAM  YARD. 


[  1 790. 
'[  To  face  p.  104. 


JAMES  BARRY 

genial  character  of  the  British  soil  for  the  growth 
of  art,  was  often  seduced  into  answering  them  in 
such  a  manner  as  suited  rather  his  fiery  temper  and 
indomitable  will  than  the  cause  which  he  so  im- 
patiently espoused.  But  a  better  result  was  his  own 
quiet  determination  to  devote  his  life  to  the  dis- 
proof of  the  theory.  He  began  admirably,  by  a 
strict  analysis  of  his  own  powers,  and  by  inquiring 
how  they  were  best  to  be  developed.  Here  is  the 
result :  "  If  I  should  chance  to  have  genius,  or  any- 
thing else,"  he  observes,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend, 
"  it  is  so  much  the  better;  but  my  hopes  are  grounded 
upon  an  unwearied,  intense  application,  of  which  I 
am  not  sparing.  At  present  I  have  little  to  show 
that  I  value ;  my  work  is  all  underground  digging 
and  laying  foundations,  which,  with  God's  assist- 
ance, I  may  hereafter  find  the  use  of.  I  every 
day  centre  more  and  more  upon  the  art ;  I  give 
myself  totally  to  it ;  and  except  honour  and  con- 
science, am  determined  to  renounce  everything 
else."  But  the  writer  was  without  a  shilling  in  the 
world  to  call  his  own  ;  and  although  he  had  friends, 
the  best  of  friends,  as  they  were — one  of  them  at 
least,  Burke,  the  best  of  men — he  had  already 
received  from  them  the  entire  means  of  subsistence 
while  he  had  been  studying  so  long  at  Rome,  and 
was  determined,  therefore,  to  be  no  longer  a  burden 
to  them  or  to  others  ;  but  how  should  he,  renouncing 

all   ordinary   blandishments   of  a   young  painter's 

105 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

career,  the  "  face-painting  "  and  other  methods  by 
which  genius  condescends  to  become  fashionable, 
or,  in  other  words,  to  lay  down  its  immortality  for 
the  pleasure  of  being  acknowledged  immortal — 
how  was  he  to  subsist  ?  It  was  whilst  this  question 
remained,  we  may  suppose,  not  decisively  answered, 
that  the  painter  thus  wrote  to  another  friend : — 
"  O,  I  could  be  happy,  in  my  going  home,  to  find 
some  corner  where  I  could  sit  down  in  the  middle 
of  my  studies,  books,  and  casts  after  the  antique,  to 
paint  this  work  and  others,  where  I  might  have 
models  of  nature,  when  necessary,  bread  and  soup, 
and  a  coat  to  cover  me !  I  should  care  not  what 
became  of  my  work  when  it  was  done ;  but  I 
reflect  with  horror  upon  such  a  fellow  as  I  am,  and 
with  such  a  kind  of  art  in  London,  with  house-rent 
to  pay,  duns  to  follow  me,  and  employers  to  look 
for.  Had  I  studied  art  in  a  manner  more  ac- 
commodated to  the  nation,  there  would  be  no  dread 
of  this."  But  from  this  state  of  despondency  and 
dissatisfaction  he  was  soon  to  rise  triumphant. 
Again  and  again  he  asked  himself  how  he  was  to 
subsist  while  the  great  things  he  meditated  should 
be  accomplished,  and  the  answer  came :  the  con- 
clusion was  anything  but  attractive  or  cheering,  but 
he  saw  it  was  the  conclusion  :  no  cross,  no  crown  ; 
and  he  accepted  it  ungrudgingly.  It  was  not  long 
before  he  could  say,  "  I  have  taken  great  pains  to 

fashion  myself  to  this  kind  of  Quixotism  ;  to  this 
106 


BARRY'S  FAMOUS  PAINTINGS 

end  I  have  contracted  and  simplified  my  cravings 
and  wants,  and  brought  them  into  a  very  narrow 
compass."  There  are  few,  we  think,  of  those  who 
may  have  smiled  with  pity  or  contempt  at  the 
painter's  mean  garb,  who  would  not  have  honoured 
it  while  they  reverenced  him,  had  they  known  this. 
The  first  apparent  opportunity  of  achieving  the 
object  indicated  was  in  connection  with  the  pro- 
posed decoration  of  St  Paul's.1  But  this  fell 
through,  and  it  was  not  until  the  Society  of  Arts 
accepted  his  offer  that  he  was  able  to  bring  himself 
into  line  with  his  own  convictions. 

"  Let  us  now  ascend  the  stairs  to  the  first  floor, 
passing  through  the  little  ante-room  where  the  alto- 
relievos  of  Bacon  and  Nollekens  are  mounted  high 
upon  the  walls,  and  beneath  the  portrait  of  the 
founder  of  the  Society,  which  appropriately  hangs 
over  the  door  of  the  great  room,  where  the  painter's 
works  are  to  be  found.  The  first  glance  shows  us 
in  one  way  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking ;  the 
upper  portion  of  the  walls  of  the  whole  of  the  noble 
room,  or  hall,  as  it  should  rather  be  called,  is  covered 
by  the  six  paintings  of  which  the  series  consists  ;  as 
we  step  from  one  to  another,  we  perceive  that  these 
large  spaces  have  been  wrought  upon  in  a  large 
spirit ;  and  a  still  closer  examination  opens  to  our 
view,  pictures  of  surpassing  beauty  and  grandeur, 
and   scarcely  less   remarkable  as  a   whole   for  the 

1  J.  Saunders,  in  Knight's  London,  vol.  v.,  pp.  359-360. 

107 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHT 

successful  manner  in  which  they  have  been  exe- 
cuted than  for  the  daring  originality  of  their 
conception." 

Barry's  six  pictures  for  the  Society  of  Arts  were 
designed  on  dignified  and  important  subjects,  so 
connected  as  to  illustrate  this  great  maxim  of 
moral  truth :  "  That  the  attainment  of  happiness, 
individual  as  well  as  public,  depends  on  the 
development,  proper  cultivation,  and  perfection  of 
the  human  faculties,  physical  and  moral,  which 
are  as  well  calculated  to  lead  human  nature  to  its 
true  rank  and  the  glorious  designation  assigned 
for  it  by  Providence."  To  illustrate  this  doctrine, 
the  first  picture  exhibits  mankind  in  a  savage  state, 
exposed  to  all  the  inconvenience  and  misery  of 
neglected  culture  ;  the  second  represents  a  Harvest 
Home,  or  thanksgiving,  to  Ceres  and  Bacchus ; 
the  third,  the  victors  at  Olympia;  the  fourth, 
Navigation,  or  the  Triumph  of  the  Thames ;  the 
fifth,  the  Distribution  of  Rewards  by  the  Society ; 
and  the  sixth,  Elysium,  or  the  state  of  final 
Retribution.  Three  of  these  subjects  are  truly 
poetical,  the  others  historical.  The  pictures  are 
all  of  the  same  height,  viz.,  eleven  feet  ten  inches  ; 
and  the  first,  second,  fourth,  and  fifth  are  fifteen 
feet  two  inches  long;  the  third  and  sixth,  which 
occupy  the  whole  breadth  of  the  room,  at  the 
north    and   south   ends,    are    each   forty-two   feet 

long. 
108 


BARRY'S  "THAMES" 

The  Thames. — Personified  and  represented,  of 
a  venerable,  majestic  and  gracious  aspect,  sitting 
on  the  waters  in  a  triumphal  car,  steering  himself 
with  one  hand,  and  holding  in  the  other  the 
mariner's  compass.  The  car  is  borne  along  by  our 
great  navigators,  Sir  Francis  Drake,  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh,  Sebastian  Cabot,  and  the  late  Captain 
Cook.  In  the  front  of  the  car,  and  apparently  in 
the  action  of  meeting  it,  are  four  figures,  represent- 
ing Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  America,  ready  to 
lay  their  several  productions  in  the  lap  of  the 
Thames.  The  supplicating  action  of  the  poor 
negro  slave — or,  more  properly,  of  enslaved  Africa 
— the  cord  round  his  neck,  the  tear  on  his  cheek, 
the  iron  manacles  and  attached  heavy  chain  on 
his  wrists,  with  his  hands  clasped  and  stretched 
out  for  mercy,  denote  the  agonies  of  his  soul,  and 
the  feelings  of  the  artist  thus  expressed,  before  the 
abolition  of  slavery  became  the  subject  of  public 
investigation.  Overhead  is  Mercury,  the  emblem 
of  commerce,  summoning  the  nations  all  together ; 
and  following  the  car  are  Nereids  carrying  several 
articles  of  the  principal  manufactures  of  Great 
Britain.  In  this  scene  of  triumph  and  joy  the 
artist  has  introduced  music,  and,  for  this  reason, 
placed  among  the  sea-nymphs  his  friend,  Dr 
Burney.  In  the  distance  is  a  view  of  the  chalky 
cliffs   on   the    English    coast,   with    ships    sailing, 

highly    characteristic    of   the    commerce    of   this 

109 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

country,  which  the  picture  is  intended  to  record. 
In  the  end  of  this  picture,  next  the  chimney,  there 
is  a  naval  pillar,  mausoleum,  observatory,  light- 
house, or  all  of  these,  they  being  all  comprehended 
in  the  same  structure. 

In  this  important  object,  so  ingeniously  produced 
by  the  sea-gods,  we  have  at  last  obtained  the 
happy  concurrence  and  union  of  so  many  im- 
portant desiderata  in  that  opportunity  of  con- 
venient inspection  of  all  the  sculptured  com- 
munications, the  want  of  which  had  been  so 
deeply  regretted  by  all  who  had  seen  the  Trajan 
and  Antonine  columns,  and  other  celebrated  remains 
of  antiquity. 

The  Society. — This  picture  represents  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  Rewards  of  the  Society.  Not 
far  advanced  from  the  left  side  of  the  picture 
stands  the  late  Lord  Romney,  then  president  of 
the  Society,  habited  in  the  robes  of  his  dignity : 
near  the  president  stands  His  Royal  Highness  the 
Prince  of  Wales ;  and  sitting  at  the  corner  of  the 
picture,  holding  in  his  hand  the  instrument  of  the 
institution,  is  Mr  William  Shipley,  "  whose  public 
spirit  gave  rise  to  this  Society."  One  of  the 
farmers,  who  are  producing  specimens  of  grain 
to  the  president,  is  Arthur  Young,  Esq.  Near 
him  Mr  More,  the  late  secretary.  On  the  right 
hand  of  the  late  Lord  Romney  stands  the  present 

Earl  of  Romney,  then  V.P.,  and  on  the  left  the 
110 


"THE  SOCIETY" 

late  Owen  Salusbury  Brereton,  Esq.,  V.P.1  Towards 
the  centre  of  the  picture  is  seen  that  distinguished 
example  of  female  excellence,  Mrs  Montague, 
who  long  honoured  the  Society  with  her  name 
and  subscription.  She  appears  recommending 
the  ingenuity  and  industry  of  a  young  female, 
whose  work  she  is  producing.  Near  her  are  placed 
the  late  Duchess  of  Northumberland ;  the  present 
Duke  of  Northumberland,  V.P. ;  the  late  Joshua 
Steele,  Esq.,  V.P. ;  Dr  Hurd,  Bishop  of  Worcester ; 
Soame  Jennings  and  James  Harris,  Esqrs.  ;  and 
the  two  duchesses  of  Rutland  and  Devonshire. 
Between  these  ladies,  the  late  Dr  Samuel  Johnson 
seems  pointing  out  the  example  of  Mrs  Montague 
to  their  Graces'  attention  and  imitation.  Further 
advanced  is  His  Grace  the  late  Duke  of  Richmond, 
V.P.,  and  the  late  Edmund  Burke,  Esq.  Still 
nearer  the  right-hand  side  of  the  picture  is  the 
late  Edward  Hooper,  Esq.,  V.P.,  and  the  late  Keane 
Fitzgerald,  Esqrs.,  V.P. ;  His  Grace  the  late  Duke 
of  Northumberland,  V.P. ;  the  Earl  of  Radnor, 
V.P.,  William  Lock,  Esq.,  and  Dr  William  Hunter 
are  examining  some  drawings  by  a  youth,  to  whom 
a  premium  has  been  adjudged :  behind  him  is 
another  youth,  in  whose  countenance  the  dejection 
he  feels  at  being  disappointed  in  his  expectation 

1  Owen  Salusbury  Brereton  (1715-1798),  antiquary;  recorder 
of  Liverpool,  1742-98;  vice-president,  Society  of  Arts,  1765-98; 
M.P.  for  Ilchester,  1775-80. 

Ill 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

of  a  reward  is   finely  expressed.     Near  the   right 

side  of  the  piece  are  seen  the  late  Lord  Viscount 

Folkestone,  first  president  of  this  Society ;  his  son, 

the  late  Earl  Radnor,  V.P. ;  and  Dr  Stephen  Hales, 

V.P.      In    the    background    appear    part    of    the 

water-front   of  Somerset   House,    St    Paul's,   and 

other    objects    in    the    vicinity   and   view  of  this 

Society,  as  instituted  at  London.     And  as  a  very 

large  part  of  the  rewards  bestowed  by  the  Society 

have  been  distributed  to  promote  the  polite  arts 

of  painting  and  sculpture,  the  artist  has  also  most 

judiciously  introduced  a  picture  and  statue.     The 

subject    of  the    picture    is    the    Fall    of   Lucifer, 

designed  by  Mr  Barry,  when  the  Royal  Academy 

had  selected  six  of  the  members  to  paint  pictures 

for  St  Paul's  Cathedral ;  the  statue  is  that  of  the 

Grecian    mother    dying,    and    in    those    moments 

attentive  only  to  the  safety  of  her  child.     In  the 

corners    of    the    picture    are    represented    many 

articles   which   have   been   invented   or    improved 

by  the   encouragement   of  this   Society.     In   the 

lower   corner   of  this   picture,  next   the  chimney, 

are    introduced   two    large    models    intended    by 

Mr  Barry  as  improvements  of  medals  and  coins. 

Elysium,  or  the  State  of  Final  Retribution. — In 

this  sublime  picture,  which  occupies  the  whole  length 

of  the  room,  the  artist  has,  with  wonderful  sagacity, 

and   without   any   of    those    anachronisms    which 

tarnish   the   lustre   of  other   very  celebrated   per- 
112 


tVY  LANK,  STRAND  (THE  BOUNDARY  OF  THE  DUCHY  OF  LANCASTER 
AND  THE  CITY  OF  WESTMINSTER). 

|  To/ace  />.  112. 


-  ELYSIUM  " 

formances,  brought  together  those  great  and  good 
men  of  all  ages  and  nations,  who  have  acted  as 
the  cultivators  and  benefactors  of  mankind.  This 
picture  is  separated  from  that  of  the  Society  distri- 
buting its  rewards  by  palm  trees  ;  near  which,  on  a 
pedestal,  sits  a  pelican,  feeding  its  young  with  its  own 
blood,  a  happy  type  of  those  personages  represented 
in  the  picture,  who  had  worn  themselves  out  in  the 
service  of  mankind.  Behind  the  palms,  near  the 
top  of  the  picture,  are  indistinctly  seen,  as  immersed 
and  lost  in  a  great  blaze  of  light,  cherubims  veiled 
with  their  wings,  in  the  act  of  adoration,  and  offer- 
ing incense  to  that  invisible  and  incomprehensible 
Power  which  is  above  them,  and  out  of  the  picture, 
from  whence  the  light  and  glory  proceed  and  are 
diffused  over  the  whole  piece.  By  thus  introducing 
the  idea  of  the  Divine  essence,  by  effect  rather  than 
by  form,  the  absurdity  committed  by  many  painters 
is  happily  avoided,  and  the  mind  of  every  intelligent 
spectator  is  filled  with  awe  and  reverence. 

The  groups  of  female  figures,  which  appear  at  a 
further  distance  absorbed  in  glory,  are  those  char- 
acters of  female  excellence,  whose  social  conduct, 
benevolence,  affectionate  friendship,  and  regular 
discharge  of  domestic  duties,  soften  the  cares  of 
human  life,  and  diffuse  happiness  around  them.  In 
the  more  advanced  part,  just  bordering  on  the  blaze 
of  light  (where  the  female  figures  are  almost  ab- 
sorbed) is  introduced  a  group  of  poor  native  West 

8  113 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Indian  females,  in  the  act  of  adoration,  pre- 
ceded by  angels,  burning  incense,  and  followed  by 
their  good  bishop,  his  face  partly  concealed  by  that 
energetic  hand  which  holds  his  crozier,  or  pastoral 
staff — who  may,  notwithstanding  the  word  Chiapa, 
inscribed  on  the  front  of  his  mitre,  be  identified  with 
the  glorious  friar  Bartolomeo  de  las  Casas,  bishop 
of  that  place.  This  matter  of  friendly  intercourse, 
continued  beyond  life,  is  pushed  still  further  in  the 
more  advanced  part  of  the  same  group  by  the  male 
adoring  Americans  and  some  Dominican  friars, 
where  the  very  graceful  incident  occurs  of  one  of 
these  Dominicans  directing  the  attention  of  an 
astonished  Caribb  to  some  circumstance  of  beati- 
tude, the  enjoyment  of  which  he  had  promised 
to  his  Caribb  friend.  The  group  below  on  the 
left  hand  in  this  picture  consists  of  Roger  Bacon, 
Archimedes,  Descartes,  and  Thales ;  behind  them 
stand  Sir  Francis  Bacon,  Copernicus,  Galileo,  and 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  regarding  with  awe  and  admiration 
a  solar  system,  which  two  angels  are  unveiling  and 
explaining  to  them.  Near  the  inferior  angel,  who 
is  holding  the  veil,  is  Columbus,  with  a  chart  of  his 
voyage ;  and  close  to  him  Epaminondas,  with  his 
shield ;  Socrates,  Cato  the  younger,  the  elder  Brutus, 
and  Sir  Thomas  More ;  a  sextumbriate  to  which, 
Swift  says,  all  ages  have  not  been  able  to  add  a 
seventh.     Behind  Marcus  Brutus  is  William  Moly- 

neux,  holding  his  book  of  the  case  of  Ireland  ;  near 
114 


"ELYSIUM" 

Columbus  is  Lord  Shaftesbury,  John  Locke,  Zeno, 
Aristotle,  and  Plato  ;  and,  in  the  opening  between 
this  group  and  the  next,  are  Sir  William  Harvey, 
the  discoverer  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  and 
the  honourable  Robert  Boyle. 

The  next  group  are  legislators,  where  King 
Alfred  the  Great  is  leaning  on  the  shoulder  of 
William  Penn,  who  is  showing  his  tolerant,  pacific 
code  of  equal  laws  to  Lycurgus.  Standing  around 
them  are  Minos,  Trajan,  Antoninus,  Peter  the 
Great  of  Russia,  Edward  the  Black  Prince,  Henry 
the  Fourth  of  France,  and  Andrea  Doria  of  Genoa. 
Here,  too,  are  introduced  those  patrons  of  genius, 
Lorenzo  de  Medici,  Louis  the  Fourteenth,  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  Charles  the  First,  Colbert,  Leo  the 
Tenth,  Francis  the  First,  the  Earl  of  Arundel,  and 
the  illustrious  monk  Cassiodorus,  no  less  admirable 
and  exemplary  as  the  secretary  of  state  than  as  the 
friar  in  his  convent  at  Viviers,  the  plan  of  which  he 
holds  in  his  hand.  Just  before  this  group,  on  the 
rocks  which  separate  Elysium  from  the  infernal 
regions,  are  placed  the  Angelic  Guards  ;  and  in  the 
most  advanced  part  an  archangel,  weighing  atten- 
tively the  virtues  and  vices  of  mankind,  whose  raised 
hand  and  expressive  countenance  denote  great  con- 
cern at  the  preponderancy  of  evil.  Behind  this  figure 
is  another  angel,  explaining  to  Pascal  and  Bishop 
Butler  the  analogy  between  Nature  and  revealed 
Religion.     The   figure   behind  Pascal  and  Butler, 

US 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHT 

with  his  arms  stretched  out,  and  advancing  with  so 

much  energy,  is  that  ornament  of  our  latter  age, 

the  graceful,  the  sublime  Bossuet,  Bishop  of  Meux. 

The  uniting  tendency  of  the  paper  he  holds  in  that 

hand,  resting  on  the  shoulder  of  Origen,  would  well 

comport   with   those  pacific  views  of  the  amiable 

Grotius,  for  healing  those  discordant  evils  which  are 

sapping  the  foundations  of  Christianity  amongst  the 

nations  of  Europe,  where  in  other  respects  it  would 

be,  and  even  is,  so  happily  and  so  well  established. 

Behind  Francis  the  First  and  Lord  Arundel  are 

Hugo   Grotius,   Father   Paul,  and   Pope  Adrian. 

Towards    the    top   of  the   picture,   and   near  the 

centre,   sits  Homer;   on  his  right   hand,    Milton; 

next    him,    Shakespeare,    Spenser,    Chaucer,    and 

Sappho.      Behind    Sappho    sits    Alcaeus,    who    is 

talking    with    Ossian ;    near    him    are    Menander, 

Moliere,     Congreve,    Bruma,    Confucius,     Mango 

Capac,  etc.  etc.     Next  Homer,  on  the  other  side, 

is  Archbishop  Fenelon,  with  Virgil  leaning  on  his 

shoulder;  and  near  them  are  Tasso,  Ariosto,  and 

Dante.     Behind  Dante,  Petrarca,  Laura,  Giovanni, 

and  Boccaccio. 

In  the  second   range    of  figures,  over   Edward 

the  Black  Prince  and  Peter  the  Great,  are  Swift, 

Erasmus,    Cervantes ;    near   them    Pope,   Dryden, 

Addison,    Richardson,    Moses    Mendelssohn,   and 

Hogarth.     Behind  Dryden  and  Pope  are  Sterne, 

Gray,   Goldsmith,   Thomson,   and    Fielding;    and 
116 


"ELYSIUM" 

near  Richardson,  Inigo  Jones,  Sir  Christopher 
Wren,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  and  Vandyke.  Next 
Vandyke  is  Rubens,  with  his  hand  on  the 
shoulders  of  Le  Sceur,  and  behind  him  is 
Le  Brun :  next  to  these  are  Julio  Romano, 
Dominichino,  and  Annibal  Caracci,  who  are  in 
conversation  with  Phidias ;  behind  whom  is  Giles 
Hussey.  Nicholas  Poussin  and  the  Sicyonian 
maid  are  near  them,  with  Callimachus  and 
Pamphilius ;  near  Appelles  is  Corregio ;  behind 
Raphaello  stand  Michael  Angelo  and  Leonardo 
da  Vinci,  and  behind  them,  Ghiberti,  Donatello, 
Massachio,  Brunaleschi,  Albert  Diirer,  Giotto,  and 
Cimabue. 

In  the  top  of  this  part  of  the  picture  the 
painter  has  happily  glanced  at  what  is  called  by 
astronomers  the  System  of  Systems,  where  the 
fixed  stars,  considered  as  so  many  suns,  each  with 
his  several  planets,  are  revolving  round  the  Great 
Cause  of  all  things ;  and  representing  everything 
as  affected  by  intelligence,  has  shown  each  system 
carried  along  in  its  revolution  by  an  angel. 
Though  only  a  small  portion  of  this  article  can 
be  seen,  yet  enough  is  shown  to  manifest  the 
sublimity  of  the  idea. 

In  the  other  corner  of  the  picture  the  artist  has 

represented   Tartarus,  where,  among   cataracts   of 

fire  and  clouds  of  smoke,  two  large  hands  are  seen, 

one  of  them  holding  a  fire-fork,  the  other  pulling 

117 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

down  a  number  of  figures  bound  together  by 
serpenting  War,  Gluttony,  Extravagance,  Detrac- 
tion, Parsimony,  and  Ambition :  and  floating  down 
the  fiery  gulf  are  Tyranny,  Hypocrisy,  and  Cruelty, 
with  their  proper  attributes;  the  whole  of  this 
excellent  picture  proving,  in  the  most  forcible 
manner,  the  truth  of  that  maxim  which  cannot  be 
too  often  inculcated:  "That  the  attainment  of  man's 
true  rank  in  the  creation,  and  his  present  and  future 
happiness,  individual  as  well  as  public,  depended  on 
the  cultivation  and  proper  direction  of  the  human 
faculties."1 

In  addition  to  the  Barry  pictures,  there  are,  in 
the  Council  Room,  full-length  portraits  of  the  first 
president  by  Gainsborough,  and  of  the  second 
president  of  the  Society,  Lord  Romney,  by 
Reynolds,  together  with  a  portrait  of  Barry. 
Here,  also,  are  portraits  of  the  Prince  Consort 
(who  was  president  from  1843  until  his  death  in 
1861),  painted  by  Horsley,  and  of  the  late  Queen 
Victoria  and  the  royal  children,  painted  by  Cope. 
One  of  the  first  prizes  of  the  Society  was  adjudged 
to  Richard  Cosway,  then  a  boy  of  twelve,  and 
afterwards  so  eminent  as  a  portrait  painter  in  oil 
and  miniatures.  But  this  was  before  the  Society 
had  removed  to  the  Adelphi.     John  Bacon,  Joseph 

1  The  above   descriptions  of   Barry's  famous  pictures  in  the 
Adelphi  are  taken  from  Brayley's  Beauties  of  England  and  Wales, 
Middlesex,  vol.  hi.,  part  ii.,  pp.  235-241. 
118 


WORK  OF  THE  SOCIETY 

Nollekens,  and  William  Woollett,  George  Romney, 
John  Flexman,  J.  M.  W.   Turner,  Edwin  Land- 
seer,  William  Mulready,  J.  E.  Millais,  and  many 
other  distinguished  artists  were  awarded  premiums 
by  the  Society,  which,  says  Mr  Wheatley,   "has 
been  active  in  promoting  commercial  and  technical 
education  by  means  of  examinations.     Out  of  the 
technological   examinations   has  grown  the  wide- 
spreading  action  of  the  City  and  Guilds  of  London 
Technical  Institute.     A  large  number  of  the  chief 
questions  of  the  day,  such  as  the  amendment  of 
the  Patent  Laws ;  the  cheapening  of  letter,  book, 
and  parcel  postage ;  the  improvement  of  musical 
education,    etc.,    have    been    dealt    with    by    the 
Society  in  the  form  of  discussion  and  by  addresses 
to  the  Government.     Several  conferences  have  also 
been  held  on  sanitary  matters  and  on  water  supply. 
The  ordinary  meetings  are  held  on  Wednesday 
evenings  at  8  p.m.,  from  November  to  May,  when 
papers  are  read  and  discussed  on  subjects  relating 
to  arts,  manufactures  and  commerce.     There  are 
also   connected   with   the   Society  three   sections : 
1.  Indian ;   2.  Foreign   and   Colonial ;   3.   Applied 
Art.     These  hold   meetings  for   the   reading  and 
discussion  of  papers  on  their  respective   subjects 
on  other  days  of  the  week.     Courses  of  lectures 
on    popular    subjects    connected    with    arts    and 
manufactures  are  delivered  on  Monday  evenings, 

and   are   styled   Cantor   Lectures,  by  reason  that 

119 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

they  owe  their  origin  to  a  bequest  of  the  late  Dr 
Cantor.  The  Albert  Medal,  founded  in  honour 
of  the  Prince  Consort,  is  awarded  annually  to  some 
eminent  man  who  has  distinguished  himself  by 
promoting  arts,  manufactures,  or  commerce.  The 
first  award  was  to  Sir  Rowland  Hill  in  1864,  and 
the  list  of  recipients  forms  a  noble  roll  of  great 
men."1  Her  late  Majesty,  Queen  Victoria,  was 
awarded  the  Society's  medal  in  her  jubilee  year, 
1887. 

The  notorious  quack  doctor  Joshua  Ward 
(1685-1761),  who  was  caricatured  by  Hogarth, 
allowed  the  Italian  sculptor,  Agostino  Carlini,  £100 
a  year,  so  that  he  should  work  on  his  statue  for  life. 
The  impudent  inventor  of  "  Friar's  Balsam "  left 
this  statue  to  the  Society  of  Arts.  This  quack, 
who  was  nicknamed  "  Spot "  Ward,  from  a  birth- 
mark on  his  cheek,  was  the  son  of  a  London  dry- 
salter.  His  skill  was  so  extolled  by  General 
Churchill  and  Lord  Chief  Baron  Reynolds,  that  he 
was  called  in  to  prescribe  for  George  II.  Despite 
his  "  remedies  " — his  famous  "  drop  and  pill "  was  a 
dangerous  compound  of  antimony — the  King  re- 
covered, and  "  Spot "  Ward  was  solemnly  voted  the 
thanks  of  a  credulous  House  of  Parliament  and 
allowed  the  privilege  of  driving  his  carriage  through 
St  James's  Park.  He  tried  to  enter  Parliament  by 
fraud  in  1717,  and  fled  to  St  Germain,  where  he 

1  London  Past  and  Present,  vol.  i.,  pp.  71-2. 
120 


SAMUEL  JOHNSON 

maintained  himself  by  his  "  universal  remedies." 
Pardoned  in  1733,  he  had  a  wonderful  career  in 
London,  and  amassed  a  fortune. 

One   of    the   most    interesting   of    the    literary 
associations  of  the  Adelphi  is  connected,  in  tradi- 
tion, with  Oliver  Goldsmith,  and,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  with  Samuel  Johnson,  both  of  whom  appeared 
before  the  Society  of  Arts.     "  The  great  room  of 
the  Society  now  mentioned,"  says  Andrew  Kippis, 
the  Nonconformist  divine  and  biographer,  at  the 
close  of  his  memoir  of  Gilbert  Cooper,  in  the  Bio- 
graphia  Britannica,1 "  was  for  several  years  the  place 
where  many  people  chose  to  try,  or  to  display,  their 
oratorical   abilities.     Dr  Goldsmith,    I   remember, 
made  an  attempt  at  a  speech,  but  was  obliged  to 
sit  down  in  confusion.     I  once  heard  Doctor  John- 
son speak  there,  upon  a  subject  relating  to  Mechanics, 
with   a  propriety,  perspicuity,  and   energy   which 
excited  general  admiration."     On  the  other  hand, 
we  have  the  testimony  of  Boswell  that  Johnson  did 
not  distinguish  himself  as  a  speaker  in  the  Adelphi. 
"  I  remember  that  it  was  observed  by  Mr  Flood, 
that  Johnson,  having  been  long  used  to  sententious 
brevity  and  the  short  flights  of  conversation,  might 
have  failed  in  that  continued  and  expanded  kind  of 
argument  which  is  requisite  in  stating  complicated 
matters  in  public  speaking ;  and,  as  a  proof  of  this, 
he  mentioned  the  supposed  speeches  in  Parliament, 

1  Vol.  iv.,  p.  266. 

121 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

written  by  him  for  the  magazine,  none  of  which,  in 
his  opinion,  were  at  all  like  real  debates.  The  opinion 
of  one  who  was  himself  so  eminent  an  orator  must 
be  allowed  to  have  great  weight.  It  was  confirmed 
by  Sir  William  Scott  [Baron  Stowell,  the  great 
Admiralty  lawyer],  who  mentioned  that  Johnson 
had  told  him  that  he  had  several  times  tried  to 
speak  in  the  Society  of  Arts  and  Manufactures,  but 
'had  found  he  could  not  get  on.'  From  Mr  William 
Gerard  Hamilton,  I  have  heard  that  Johnson,  when 
observing  to  him  that  it  was  prudent  for  a  man  who 
had  not  been  accustomed  to  speak  in  public  to 
begin  his  speech  in  as  simple  a  manner  as  possible, 
acknowledged  that  he  rose  in  that  Society  to  deliver 
a  speech  which  he  had  prepared ;  '  but,'  said  he, 
'  all  my  flowers  of  oratory  forsook  me.' " 

I  am  sorry  to  destroy  a  long-cherished  illusion, 
but  the  worthy  Dr  Kippis  is  in  error  in  "  remem- 
bering "  Goldsmith  attempting  to  make  a  speech  in 
"  the  great  room  "  of  the  Society  of  Arts.  This 
room  was  not  opened  until  1774,  and  on  April  4th  of 
that  year,  Goldsmith — unfortunately  for  the  Kippis 
tradition — with  a  mind  ill  at  ease,  departed  life. 


122 


CHAPTER  VI 

David  Garrick — His  Residence  in  the  Adelphi — Founds  the 
Drury  Lane  Fund — His  Last  Appearance  on  the  Stage — 
Honoured  by  Parliament — The  Friendship  of  Mr  and  Mrs 
Garrick  for  Hannah  More — Their  Correspondence — Garrick 
helps  the  Production  of  Percy  —  Presents  his  Buckles  to 
Hannah  More — The  Production  of  Percy  —  Garrick's  Pro- 
logue gives  Offence — Garrick  brings  Hannah  More's  Dinner 
from  the  Adelphi  to  the  "Turk's  Head" — The  Literary 
Club — His  Last  Illness  and  Death. 

The  shades  of  David  Garrick  and  Dr  Johnson  must 

haunt  the  Adelphi.     Johnson  was  a  constant  visitor 

here.     The  Adelphi  buildings  are  very  much  as  they 

were  in  his   lifetime,   whereas  most   of  his  Fleet 

Street  habitations  are  either  swept  away  or  sadly 

marred.     But,  although  the  Embankment  and  the 

Gardens   below   Adelphi   Terrace  have   taken  the 

place  of  the  unsightly   wharves   and   the   muddy 

river   of  Johnson's   day,   the    house   occupied    by 

David  Garrick  for  some  six  or  seven  years  before 

his  death,  and   wherein  he   died,  is  still  standing. 

The    great    actor    purchased    the    property,   and, 

consequently,  we  may  look  in  vain  for  any  mention 

of  it  in  the  Particulars  of  the  Adelphi  Lottery,  to 

123 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHT 

which    I    have   already   made   reference.      During 

these  last  few  years  of  his  life,  Garrick — who  spent 

the  summer  at  his  country  residence  at  Hampton 

— busied   himself    in    the    foundation  of  a   great 

charitable   bequest  for  his  fellow-players.     At  his 

suggestion,  and  upon  his  advice,  the  Drury  Lane 

Fund  was  established,  a  special  Act  of  Parliament, 

for  which  he  provided  all  the  necessary  expenses, 

being  obtained  for  the  sanction  and  support  of  the 

institution,  in  January,  1776.     He  also  gave  to  it 

all  the  money  which  he  received  on  the  occasion  of 

his   taking  leave  of  the  stage.     "It  is  computed 

that   by   the    product    of    his    labours,   in   acting 

annually   capital   parts,   and  by  donations   of  one 

kind  or  another,  he   bestowed  for  this   beneficial 

institution  a  capital  of  near  4,500  L." 

It   was  from  his  house  in  the  Adelphi — No.  5, 

the  centre   house   of  the  Terrace — which,  by  the 

way,  was  then  known  as  Royal  Terrace — that  the 

great  actor  set  out  on  the  eventful  10th  of  June, 

1776,    for    the    stage    of    Drury    Lane    Theatre, 

whereon  he  then  made   his   last  appearance.     He 

acted    Don    Felix,   in    Mrs    Centlivre's    comedy, 

The  Wonder,  a  Woman  keeps  a  Secret.     He  had 

previously  disposed   of  his  interest  in  the  patent, 

for    the    sum   of    £35,000,    to    Richard    Brinsley 

Sheridan   and   Richard   Ford.      Before   his   actual 

farewell,  he   gave  the   public    an   opportunity   of 

seeing    him     in    several    of    his    other    favourite 
124 


DAVID  GARRICK 

characters,    including    Hamlet,    Richard  III.,  and 

King  Lear.     He  only  acted  Richard  once  during 

his  farewell  season,  and  that  was  by  command  of 

George  III.     "His   Majesty,"  we  are  told,  "was 

much  surprised  to  see  him,  in  an  age  so  advanced  " 

(he  was  just  then  sixty  years  old)  "run  about  the 

field  of  battle  with  so  much  fire,  force,  and  agility." 

On  the  conclusion  of  his  performance  of  Don  Felix, 

Garrick   approached   the   footlights,    "with   much 

palpitation   of  mind,   and   visible   emotion   in   his 

countenance.       No    premeditation    could    prepare 

him    for    this   affecting    scene.       He   bowed — he 

paused — the  spectators  were  all  attention.     After 

a  short  struggle  of  nature,  he  recovered  from  the 

shock,"  and  thus  addressed  the  audience : — "  Ladies 

and  gentlemen,  it  has  been  customary  with  persons 

under    my   circumstances    to    address    you    in    a 

farewell  epilogue.     I  had  the  same  intention,  and 

turned  my  thoughts  that  way  ;  but  indeed  I  found 

myself   then    as    incapable    of    writing    such    an 

epilogue  as  I  should  be  now  of  speaking  it.     The 

jingle  of  rhyme  and  the  language  of  fiction  would 

but  ill  suit  my  present  feelings.     This  is  to  me  a 

very  awful  moment ;  it  is  no  less  than  parting  for 

ever  with  those  from  whom    I  have  received  the 

greatest  kindness  and  favours,  and  upon  the  spot 

where    that    kindness     and    those    favours    were 

received."     (Here  he  was  unable  to  proceed  till  he 

was   relieved  by  a  shower  of  tears.)     "Whatever 

125 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

may  be  the  changes  of  my  future  life,  the  deepest 
impression  of  your  kindness  will  always  remain 
here  "  (putting  his  hand  on  his  breast),  "  fixed  and 
unalterable.  I  will  very  readily  agree  to  my 
successors  having  more  skill  and  ability  for  their 
station  than  I  have ;  but  I  defy  them  all  to  take 
more  sincere  and  more  uninterrupted  pains  for  your 
favour,  or  to  be  more  truly  sensible  of  it  than  is 
your  humble  servant."  The  crowded  and  brilliant 
audience  rewarded  the  actor  with  renewed  acclama- 
tions and  many  tears ;  and,  making  a  "  profound 
obeisance,"  he  left  the  stage. 

Garrick,  despite  his  retirement  from  the  theatre, 
still  took  great  interest  in  it.  He  read  and 
approved  the  tragedy  of  Percy,  which  had  been 
written  by  Hannah  More,  the  religious  writer 
(1745-1833),  and  was  instrumental  in  its  production, 
at  Covent  Garden,  in  1777.  He  also  wrote  the 
prologue  and  the  epilogue  to  the  play.  He 
frequently  attended  the  debates  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  In  the  spring  of  1777,  he  unwittingly 
provoked  a  marked  compliment  to  his  splendid 
position  in  the  great  world  of  artistic  and  literary 
London.  Happening  to  be  present  in  the 
Strangers'  Gallery  during  a  certain  motion  which 
produced  some  bickering  between  two  right 
honourable  gentlemen,  "which  proceeded  to  such 
a  degree  of  warmth  that  the  Speaker  had  to  inter- 
fere," an  unhappy  member  for  Shropshire,  observing 
126 


EDMUND  BURKE'S  COMMENDATION 

that  Garrick  was  seated  in  the  Gallery,  thereupon 
moved  a  resolution  for  the  clearing  of  the  House. 
"  Roscius,"  however,  managed  to  withdraw  himself 
from  further  observation,  and  thus  avoided  the 
consequences  of  the  ungenerous  suggestion.  The 
same  unfortunate  member,  on  the  following  day, 
essayed  to  address  the  House  on  the  impropriety 
of  suffering  players  to  hear  the  debates,  where- 
upon no  less  a  person  than  Edmund  Burke  arose, 
and,  appealing  to  the  honourable  assembly,  asked 
whether  "  it  could  possibly  be  consistent  with  the 
rules  of  decency  and  liberality  to  exclude  from  the 
hearing  of  their  debates  a  man  to  whom  they  were 
all  obliged,  one  who  was  the  great  master  of 
eloquence,  in  whose  school  they  had  all  imbibed 
the  art  of  speaking  and  been  taught  the  elements 
of  rhetoric.  For  his  part,  he  owned  that  he  had 
been  greatly  indebted  to  his  instructions.  Much 
more  he  said  in  commendation  of  Mr  Garrick,  and 
was  warmly  seconded  by  Mr  Fox  and  Mr  T. 
Townshend,  who  very  copiously  displayed  the  great 
merit  of  their  old  preceptor,  as  they  termed  him ; 
they  reprobated  the  motion  of  the  gentleman  with 
great  warmth  and  indignation."1  The  House,  with 
almost  complete  unanimity,  concurred  in  this 
eulogium,  and  the  actor,  returning  to  the  Adelphi, 
wrote  the  following  lines  on  the  subject : — 

1  Davies'  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  David  Garrick,  1784,  vol.  ii., 
p.  356. 

127 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

"  Squire  B n  rose  with  deep  intent, 

And  notify'd  to  Parliament 

That  I,  it  was  a  shame  and  sin, 

When  others  were  shut  out,  got  in  ; 

Asserting  in  his  wise  oration, 

I  glory' d  in  my  situation. 

I  own  my  features  might  betray 

Peculiar  joy  I  felt  that  day. 

I  glory  when  my  mind  is  feasted 

With  dainties  it  has  seldom  tasted  ; 

When  reason  chooses  Fox's  tongue, 

To  be  more  rapid^  clear,  and  strong ; 

When  from  his  classic  urn  Burke  pours 

A  copious  stream  through  banks  of  flowers  ; 

When  Barre  stern,  with  accents  deep, 

Calls  up  Lord  North,  and  murders  sleep  ; 

And  if  his  Lordship  rise  to  speak, 

Then  wit  and  argument  awake  : 

When  Rigby  speaks,  and  all  may  hear  him, 

Who  can  withstand,  ridendo  verum  ? 

When  Thurlow's  words  attention  bind, 

The  spell's  of  a  superior  mind. 

Now,  whether  I  were  Whig  or  Tory, 

This  was  a  time  for  me  to  glory ; 

My  glory  farther  still  extends, 

For  most  of  these  I  call  my  friends  : 

But  if,  Squire  B n,  you  were  hurt, 

To  see  me,  as  you  thought,  so  pert, 
You  might  have  punish' d  my  transgression, 
And  damp'd  the  ardour  of  expression. 
A  brute  there  is  whose  voice  confounds, 
And  frights  all  others  with  strange  sounds ; 
Had  you,  your  matchless  pow'rs  displaying, 

Like  him,  Squire  B n,  set  a-braying, 

I  should  have  lost  all  exultation, 
Nor  gloried  in  my  situation." 

The   strong   bond   of  friendship   which   existed 

between  Hannah  More  and  Mr  and  Mrs  Garrick 
128 


U  i 


HANNAH  MORE 

is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  events  in  the  history 

of  literature  and  the  stage.     On  the  one  side,  there 

was  unbounded  admiration  for  the  great  actor ;  on 

the  other,  Garrick  and  his  wife  evidently  held  the 

young  writer  in  the  highest  esteem.     The  letters 

written,  and  received  by,  Hannah  More,  from  the 

time  of  her  first  meeting  with  Garrick,  until  the 

death  of  his  widow,  form  a  charming  note  in  the 

lives  of  these  three  people.     They  bridge  over  the 

years  1776  to  1822.     In  the  former  year,  it  should 

be  borne  in  mind,  the  actor  was  nearly  sixty  years 

old,    his    wife    a    little    younger,    while    Hannah 

More    was    but    thirty-one    years    of    age.     The 

affection   of  the   elderly   couple   for   their    young 

protegee    is    remarkable,    and,   curiously   enough, 

the  career  of  the  latter  began  with  Garrick's  leaving 

the    stage.     On    June    10,    1776,    Hannah    More 

writes  to  David  Garrick :  "I  think,  by  the  time 

this  reaches  you,  I  may  congratulate  you  on  the 

end  of  your  labours  and  the  completion  of  your 

fame — a  fame  which  has  had  no  parallel,  and  will 

have  no  end.     Yet  whatever  reputation  the  world 

may  ascribe  to  you,  I,  who  have  had  the  happy 

privilege  of  knowing  you  intimately,  shall  always 

think  you  derived  your  greatest   glory  from   the 

temperance   with   which  you  enjoyed  it  and  the 

true  greatness  of  mind  with  which  you  lay  it  down. 

Surely,   to   have   suppressed   your   talents   in  the 

moment  of  your   highest   capacity   for  exercising 

9  129 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

them,  does  as  much  honour  to  your  heart  as  the 
exertion  itself  did  to  your  dramatic  character ;  but 
I  cannot  trust  myself  with  this  subject,  because  I 
am  writing  to  the  man  himself;  yet  I  ought  to 
be  indulged,  for  is  not  the  recollection  of  my 
pleasures  all  that  is  left  me  of  them  ?  Have  I  not 
seen  in  one  season  that  man  act  seven-and-twenty 
times,  and  rise  each  time  in  excellence,  and  shall  I 
be  silent  ?  Have  I  not  spent  three  months  under  the 
roof  of  that  man  and  his  dear  charming  lady,  and  re- 
ceived from  them  favours  that  would  take  me  another 
three  months  to  tell  over,  and  shall  I  be  silent  ? 

"But  highly  as  I  enjoy  your  glory  (for  I  do  enjoy 
it  most  heartily,  and  seem  to  partake  it  too,  as  1 
think  a  ray  of  it  falls  on  all  your  friends),  yet  I 
tremble  for  your  health.  It  is  impossible  you  can 
do  so  much  mischief  to  the  nerves  of  other  people 
without  hurting  your  own, — in  Richard  especially, 
where  your  murders  are  by  no  means  confined  to 
the  Tower:  but  you  assassinate  your  whole 
audience  who  have  hearts.  I  say,  I  tremble  lest 
you  should  suffer  for  all  this ;  but  it  is  now  over, 
as  I  hope  are  the  bad  effects  of  it  upon  yourself. 
You  may  break  your  wand  at  the  end  of  your 
trial,  when  you  lay  down  the  office  of  haut 
intendant  of  the  passions ;  but  the  enchantment 
it  raised  you  can  never  break,  while  the  memories 
and    feelings    remain    of    those    who    were    ever 

admitted  into  the  magic  circle. 
130 


GARRICK'S  PROLOGUE  TO  "PERCY'' 

"  This  letter  is  already  of  a  good  impudent  length, 
and  to  the  person,  of  all  others,  who  has  the  least 
time  to  read  nonsense.  I  will  not  prolong  my 
impertinence,  but  to  beg  and  conjure  that  I  may 
hear  a  little  bit  about  your  finishing  night.  The 
least  scrap — printed  or  manuscript — paragraph  or 
advertisement — merry  or  serious — verse  or  prose, 
will  be  thankfully  received,  and  hung  up  in  the 
temple  of  reliques. 

"  Pray  tell  my  sweet  Mrs  Garrick  I  live  on  the 
hope  of  hearing  from  her.  And  tell  her  further 
that  she  and  you  have  performed  a  miracle,  for 
you  have  loaded  one  person  with  obligations,  and 
have  not  made  an  ingrate." 

A   few  months   later   Hannah   More   beseeches 

Garrick  to  write  her  a  prologue  to  Percy.     Garrick 

received  her  letter  just  as  he  was  about  to  leave 

the  Adelphi  for  a  trip  on  the  river.     But  he  replied 

immediately,  in  the  following  characteristic  way : 

"  Write  you   an  epilogue !     Give  you  a  pinch  of 

snuff!     By  the  greatest  good  luck  in  the  world, 

I  received  your  letter  when  I  was  surrounded  with 

ladies   and   gentlemen,  setting   out   upon   a  party 

to  go  up  the  Thames.     Our  expedition  will  take 

us   seven   or   eight  days   upon   the   most   limited 

calculations.      They    would    hardly    allow    me    a 

moment  to  write  this  scrawl :  I  snatched  up  the 

first  piece  of  paper   (and  a  bad  one  it  is)  to  tell 

you  how  unhappy  I  am  that  I  cannot  confer  upon 

131 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

you  so  small  a  favour  directly.  If  you  will  let  me 
know  immediately,  by  a  line  directed  to  me  at  the 
Adelphi,  for  whom  you  intend  the  epilogue,  and 
what  are  her  or  his  strong  marks  of  character  in 
the  play  (for  my  copy  is  in  town,  or  with  Miss 
Young),  I  will  do  my  best  on  my  return.  I  must 
desire  you  not  to  rely  upon  me  this  time,  on 
account  of  my  present  situation ;  I  could  as  soon 
sleep  in  a  whirlwind  as  write  among  these  ladies, 
and  I  shall  be  so  fatigued  with  talking  myself,  and 
hearing  them  talk,  or  I  could  sit  up  all  night  to 
obey  your  commands." 

Garrick  complied  with  the  request,  and  Hannah 
More  writes,  on  June  16,  1777,  to  thank  him :  "  I 
beg  to  return  you  my  hearty  thanks  for  your  good- 
ness in  sending  me  your  delightful  prologue.  That 
you  should  think  me  not  unworthy  to  possess  so 
great  a  treasure  flatters  more  than  my  vanity. 
And  that  you  should  send  it  me  so  soon  makes  it 
doubly  gratifying.  I  have  read  and  re-read  it  with 
all  the  malice  of  a  friend,  and  pronounce  that  I 
never  read  a  sweeter  or  more  beautiful  thing.  .  .  . 
Many  thanks,  dear  sir,  for  your  good  and  whole- 
some advice  about  my  play.  I  do  nothing,  except 
regret  my  own  idleness.  I  tremble  for  my  fifth 
act ;  but  I  am  afraid  I  shall  never  make  others 
tremble  at  it.  My  love  and  duty  to  my  sweet 
Mrs  Garrick,  and  my  thankful  compliments  to  the 

young  lady  to  whose  transcription  I  am  so  much 
132 


THE  -FELIX  BUCKLES" 

obliged ;    she    is    astonishingly    correct,    not    the 
smallest  error." 

Hannah  More  was  then  invited  to  visit  the 
Garricks.  "As  soon  as  I  got  to  London,"  she 
writes  to  her  sister,  "  I  drove  straight  to  the 
Adelphi,  where,  to  my  astonishment,  I  found  a 
coach  waiting  for  me  to  carry  me  to  Hampton. 
Upon  my  arrival  here,  I  was  immediately  put  in 
possession  of  my  old  chamber.  Garrick  is  all  good 
humour,  vivacity,  and  wit.  While  I  think  of  it, 
I  must  treat  you  with  a  little  distich  which  Mrs 
Barbauld  wrote  extempore,  on  my  showing  my 
Felix  Buckles  (the  elegant  buckles  which  Garrick 
wore  the  last  time  he  ever  acted,  and  with  which 
he  presented  me  as  a  relic) : 

fThy  buckles,  O  Garrick,  thy  friend  may  now  use, 
But  no  mortal  hereafter  shall  tread  in  thy  shoes  ? '  " 

Where,  I   wonder,  are  those   "  Felix    Buckles " 

now,  with  their  double  association  of  David  Garrick 

and   Hannah   More !      During   this   visit    to    the 

Garricks,  the  company  who  "  did  honour "  to  the 

actor  and  his  wife  included  Dr  Burney,  Sheridan, 

Lord  Palmerston,  and  others  of  note.     "  Roscius  " 

was  in  the  best  of  spirits  and  "literally  kept  the 

table  in  a  roar  for  four  hours.     He  told  his  famous 

story  of  '  Jack  Pocklington  '  in  a  manner  so  entirely 

new,  and  so  infinitely  witty,  that  the  company  have 

done   nothing  but  talk  of  it  ever  since.     I  have 

often  heard  this  story :  it  is  of  a  person  who  came 

133 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

to  offer  himself  for  the  stage,  with  an  impediment 
in  his  speech.  He  gives  the  character,  too,  in  as 
strong  a  manner  as  Fielding  could  have  done." 

Hannah  More  was  brought  into  very  close 
relationship  with  the  Garricks  in  the  autumn  of 
1777,  through  the  play  in  which  Garrick  had 
interested  himself.  On  October  17,  he  sends  a 
letter  to  her  from  the  Adelphi :  "  Shame  !  shame  ! 
shame !  You  may  well  say  so,  my  dear  madam  ; 
but  indeed  I  have  been  so  disagreeably  entertained 
with  the  gout  running  all  about  me,  from  head  to 
heel,  that  I  have  been  unfit  for  the  duties  of  friend- 
ship ;  and  very  often  for  those  which  a  good 
husband,  and  a  good  friend,  should  never  fail 
performing.  I  must  gallop  over  this  small  piece  of 
paper ;  it  was  the  first  1  snatched  up,  to  tell  you 
that  my  wife  has  your  letter,  and  thinks  it  a  fine 
one  and  a  sweet  one. 

"  I  was  at  court  to-day,  and  such  work  they  made 
with  me,  from  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to 
the  Page  of  the  Back  Stairs,  that  I  have  been 
suffocated  with  compliments.  We  have  wanted 
you  at  some  of  our  private  hours.  Where's  the 
Nine  ?  We  want  the  Nine  ! *  Silent  was  every 
muse ! 

"  Cambridge  said  yesterday,  in  a  large  company  at 
the  Bishop  of  Durham's,  where  I  dined,  that  your 

1  "  The  Nine,"  Garrick's  favourite  way  of  addressing  Hannah 
More. 
134 


" PERCY " 

ode  to  my  house-dog  was  a  very  witty  production ; 
and  he  thought  there  was  nothing  to  be  altered  or 
amended  except  in  the  last  stanza,  which  he  thought 
the  only  weak  one.  I  am  afraid  that  you  asked 
me  to  do  something  for  you  about  the  parliament, 
which  in  my  multitude  of  matters  was  overlooked ; 
pray,  if  it  is  of  consequence,  let  me  know  it  again, 
and  you  may  be  assured  of  the  intelligence  you 
want. 

"  The  last  new  tragedy,  Semiramis,1  has,  though 
a  bare  translation,  met  with  great  success.  The 
prologue  is  a  bad  one,  as  you  may  read  in  the 
papers,  by  the  author :  the  epilogue  is  grave,  but 
a  sweet  pretty  elegant  morsel,  by  Mr  Sheridan ; 
it  had  deservedly  great  success.  Mr  Mason's 
Caractacus 2  is  not  crowded,  but  the  men  of  taste, 
and  classical  men,  admire  it  much.  Mrs  Garrick 
sends  a  large  parcel  of  love  to  you  all.  I  send 
mine  in  the  same  bundle.  Pray  write  soon,  and 
forgive  me  all  my  delinquencies."  Writing  to  her 
sister  in  November,  on  the  eve  of  the  production 
of  Percy,  Hannah  More  says :  "  It  is  impossible  to 
tell  you  of  all  the  kindness  and  friendship  of  the 
Garricks ;  he  thinks  of  nothing,  talks  of  nothing, 
writes  of  nothing  but  Percy.  He  is  too  sanguine  ; 
it  will  have  a  fall,  and  so  I  tell  him.  When 
Garrick   had   finished   his   prologue   and   epilogue 

1  Voltaire's  tragedy,  produced  at  Drury  Lane. 

2  A  "  dramatic  poem,"  on  the  model  of  Greek  tragedy. 

135 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

(which  are  excellent)  he  desired  1  would  pay  him. 
Dryden,  he  said,  used  to  have  five  guineas  a  piece, 
but  as  he  was  a  richer  man  he  would  be  content  if 
I  would  treat  him  with  a  handsome  supper  and  a 
bottle  of  claret.  We  haggled  sadly  about  the 
price,  I  insisting  that  I  could  only  afford  to  give 
him  a  beefsteak  and  a  pot  of  porter ;  and  at  about 
twelve  we  sat  down  to  some  toast  and  honey,  with 
which  the  temperate  bard  contented  himself. 
Several  very  great  ones  made  interest  to  hear 
Garrick  read  the  play,  which  he  peremptorily 
refused.  I  supped  on  Wednesday  night  at  Sir 
Joshua's,  spent  yesterday  morning  at  the  Chan- 
cellor's, and  the  evening  at  Mrs  Boscawen's,  Lady 
Bathurst  being  of  the  party." 

Then  comes  another  note,  from  Mr  Garrick's 
study,  Adelphi,  ten  at  night:  "He  himself  puts 
the  pen  into  my  hand,  and  bids  me  say  that  all  is 
just  as  it  should  be.  Nothing  was  ever  more 
warmly  received.  I  went  with  Mr  and  Mrs 
Garrick;  sat  in  Mr  Harris's  box,  in  a  snug  dark 
corner,  and  behaved  very  well,  that  is,  very  quietly. 
The  prologue  and  epilogue  were  received  with 
bursts  of  applause ;  so  indeed  was  the  whole ;  as 
much  beyond  my  expectation  as  my  deserts  !  Mr 
Garrick's  kindness  has  been  unceasing." 

Percy,  it  may  be  observed,  was  Hannah  More's 

most  important  play.     The  author  had  previously 

published    a    pastoral    drama,    The    Search   after 
136 


•ft, 


f.      _• 


o    - 


r. 
J. 


O 


GARRICK'S  PROLOGUE 

Happiness,  for  the  edification  of  school  children, 
and  her  tragedy,  The  Inflexible  Captive,  was  acted 
on  one  occasion  in  Bath.  Her  fourth  play,  The 
Fatal  Falsehood,  failed,  at  Covent  Garden,  in  1779. 
The  success  of  Percy  was  largely  due  to  Garrick's 
friendly  help.  Wroughton,  "  Gentleman  "  Lewis, 
and  Mrs  Crawford  played  the  principal  parts. 
Garrick  wrote  the  epilogue,  as  well  as  the  prologue, 
and,  by  the  following  lines  from  the  latter,  gave 
great  offence  to  a  French  lady,  Mile.  D'Eon,  a 
reputed  natural  daughter  of  Louis  XV.,  who  had 
a  "  violent  passion "  for  the  military  dress  of  an 
officer  in  preference  to  the  gown  and  petticoat  of 
her  own  sex  : 

"  To  rule  the  man  our  sex  dame  Nature  teaches ; 
Mount  the  high  horse  we  can,  and  make  long  speeches  ; 
Nay,  and  with  dignity,  some  wear  the  breeches. 
And  why  not  wear  them  ? — 
Did  not  a  lady-knight,  late  chevalier, 
A  brave  smart  soldier  in  your  eyes  appear  ? 
Hey  !  presto  ?  pass  !     His  sword  becomes  a  fan  ; 
A  comely  woman  rising  from  a  man  ! 
The  French  their  Amazonian  maid  invite ; 
She  goes — alike  well  skill' d  to  talk  or  write, 
Dance,  ride,  negotiate,  scold,  coquet,  or  fight. 
If  she  should  set  her  heart  upon  a  rover, 
And  he  prove  false,  she'd  kick  her  faithless  lover." 

In  January,  1778,  Hannah  More,  flushed  with 

the  success  of  her  tragedy,  was  paying  a  round  of 

visits  in  London.     On  one  night  she  dined  with 

Mrs  Delany,  Mrs  Boscawen,  and  the  Duchess  of 

Portland :  on  the  next,  "  at  the  Garricks  with  the 

137 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

sour  crout  party  " — a  weekly  dinner  in  the  Adelphi 
of  learned  men  (sour  crout  being  one  of  the  dishes), 
to  which  Hannah  More  was  always  invited.  She 
was  taken  ill  during  this  month,  and  Mrs  Garrick 
tried  to  induce  her  to  stay  with  her,  an  invitation 
which  was  not  accepted.  Mrs  Garrick  "would 
have  gone  herself  to  fetch  me  a  physician,  and 
insisted  upon  sending  me  my  dinner,  which  I 
refused;  but  at  six  this  evening,  when  Garrick 
came  to  the  Turk's  Head  to  dine,  there  accompanied 
him,  in  the  coach,  a  minced  chicken  in  the  stew- 
pan,  hot,  a  canister  of  her  fine  tea,  and  a  pot  of 
cream.  Were  there  ever  such  people!  Tell  it 
not  in  Epic,  or  in  Lyric,  that  the  great  Roscius 
rode  with  a  stew-pan  of  minced  meat  with  him 
in  the  coach  for  my  dinner."  The  Turk's  Head, 
by  the  way,  was  "  a  noted  rendezvous  of  painters  " 
and  the  home  of  the  Artists'  Club  before,  in  the 
year  1764,  Johnson  and  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds 
founded  the  famous  "  Literary  Club,"  the  members 
of  which  met  weekly  for  supper  and  conversation. 
Garrick  had  been  a  member  for  three  years  when 
he  brought  the  invalid's  repast  from  the  Adelphi 
to  the  Turk's  Head — which  was  in  Gerrard  Street, 
at  the  corner  of  Greek  Street  and  Compton  Street. 
The  actor  was  also  kind  enough  to  invest  the 
profit  on  Percy,  on  the  best  security  and  at  five 
per  cent.,  so  that  it  made  a  considerable  addition 

to  the  income  of  the  young  writer. 

138 


DINNER  WITH  THE  GARRICKS 

On  a  certain  memorable  Thursday,  in  1778, 
Hannah  More  dined  with  the  Garricks  in  the 
Adelphi,  and,  in  the  evening,  Garrick  accompanied 
his  guest  to  a  reception  given  by  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds ;  the  party  included  Gibbon,  Johnson, 
Hermes  Harris,  Burney,  Chambers,  Ramsey,  the 
Bishop  of  St  Asaph,  Boswell,  and  Langton  ;  "  and 
scarce  an  expletive  man  or  woman  among  them. 
Garrick  put  Johnson  into  such  good  spirits  that 
I  never  knew  him  so  entertaining  or  more 
instructive.  He  was  as  brilliant  as  himself,  and 
as  good-humoured  as  any  one  else." 

The  end  of  a  great  career  was,  unhappily,  now 

approaching.      Mr   and    Mrs    Garrick    had    been 

invited  to  spend   the   Christmas   of  1778   at  the 

country  seat   of  Earl   Spencer,  where  they  were 

honoured  guests.     In  the  midst  of  the  festivities, 

Garrick  was  seized  with  a  return  of  an  old  disorder 

— an  affection  of  the  kidneys.     Early  in  January, 

however,  he  had  so  far  recovered  that  he  was  able 

to  travel  to  London.     He  arrived  at  his  house  in 

the  Adelphi  on  January  15,  and  several  physicians 

were   called  in.      One   of  them,   seeing  that   the 

illness  was  serious,  and  knowing  that  its  course  was 

certain,   thought    it   necessary  to    tell    the   actor 

that,  if  he  had  any  worldly  affairs  to  settle,   "  it 

would  be  prudent   to   dispatch   them  as   soon   as 

possible."     But  Garrick  made  answer  that  nothing 

of  that  sort  lay  on  his  mind,  that  he  was  not  afraid 

139 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

to  die.  About  two  days  before  his  death,  he  was 
visited  by  an  old  friend,  who  was  persuaded  to  stay 
and  dine  with  Mrs  Garrick,  who  was  greatly 
fatigued  by  her  long  and  constant  attendance  upon 
her  husband,  a  duty  to  which  she  invariably 
attended.  While  she  was  talking  to  the  friend, 
the  dying  actor  came  into  the  room ;  "  but,  oh  ! 
how  changed  !  divested  of  that  vivacity  and  spright- 
liness  which  used  to  accompany  everything  he  said 
and  everything  he  did !  His  countenance  was 
sallow  and  wan,  his  movements  slow  and  solemn. 
He  was  wrapped  in  a  rich  night-gown,  not  unlike 
that  which  he  always  wore  in  Lusignan,  the 
venerable  old  king  of  Jerusalem  [in  Zara~\;  he 
presented  himself  to  the  imagination  of  his  friend 
as  if  he  was  just  ready  to  act  that  character.  He 
sat  down ;  and  during  the  space  of  an  hour,  the 
time  he  remained  in  the  room,  he  did  not  utter 
a  word.  He  rose,  and  withdrew  to  his  chamber. 
Mrs  Garrick  and  the  Gentleman  dined."  What  a 
sad  dinner  that  must  have  been  ! 

Just  before  his  death,  Garrick  confided  to  a 
friend  that  he  did  not  regret  being  childless,  for 
he  knew  that  the  quickness  of  his  feelings  was  so 
great  that,  in  case  it  had  been  his  misfortune  to 
have  disobedient  children,  he  could  not  have  borne 
such  an  affliction.  On  seeing  a  number  of  gentle- 
men in  his  apartment  a  few  hours  before  the  end, 

he  enquired  who  they  were,  and,  on  being  told 
140 


DEATH  OF  DAVID  GARRICK 

that  they  were  physicians  who  sought  to  do  him 
service,  he  shook  his  head,  and  repeated  the  follow- 
ing lines  from  Nicholas  Rowe's  Fair  Penitent : — 

"  Another,  and  another,  still  succeeds  ; 
And  the  last  fool  is  welcome  as  the  former." 

He  died,  with  great  composure,  at  eight  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  January  20,  1779.  On  Monday, 
February  1,  the  body  was  conveyed  from  the 
Adelphi  to  Westminster  Abbey,  and  interred  in 
Poet's  Corner,  a  spot  made  still  further  memorable 
in  the  annals  of  the  stage  by  the  burial  here — and 
close  by  the  graves  of  David  Garrick  and  Samuel 
Johnson — of  the  remains  of  Henry  Irving. 

Before  describing  the  magnificent  funeral  pro- 
cession of  David  Garrick  from  the  Adelphi,  let  me 
glance  for  a  moment  at  the  widow  of  the  great 
actor  and  her  deportment  on  this  sad  occasion. 
Thanks  to  Hannah  More — who  had  risen  from  a 
sick-bed,  in  Bristol,  and  had  travelled  post-haste  to 
London,  at  the  express  desire  of  her  friend — we 
get  a  most  interesting  account  of  Mrs  Garrick  at 
the  time  of  her  husband's  death  : — 

"  She  was  prepared  for  meeting  me  ;  she  ran  into 
my  arms,  and  we  both  remained  silent  for  some 
minutes ;  at  last  she  whispered— '  I  have  this 
moment  embraced  his  coffin,  and  you  come  next.' 
She  soon  recovered  herself,  and  said  with  great 
composure,  '  The  goodness  of  God  to  me  is  inex- 
pressible ;    I    desired   to   die,  but   it  is   His   will 

141 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

that  I  should  live,  and  He  has  convinced  me  He 
will  not  let  my  life  be  quite  miserable,  for  He  gives 
astonishing  strength  to  my  body  and  grace  to  my 
heart ! — neither  do  I  deserve ;  but  I  am  thankful 
for  both  ! '  She  thanked  me  a  thousand  times  for 
such  a  real  act  of  friendship,  and  bade  me  be  com- 
forted, for  it  was  God's  will.  She  told  me  they  had 
just  returned  from  Althorp,  Lord  Spencer's,  where 
he  had  been  reluctantly  dragged,  for  he  had  felt  un- 
well for  some  time ;  but  during  his  visit  he  was  often 
in  such  fine  spirits  that  they  could  not  believe  he  was 
ill.  On  his  return  home  he  appointed  Dr  Cadogan 
to  meet  him,  who  ordered  him  an  emetic,  the  warm 
bath,  and  the  usual  remedies,  but  with  very  little 
effect.  On  the  Sunday  he  was  in  good  spirits 
and  free  from  pain ;  but  as  the  suppression  still 
continued,  Dr  Cadogan  became  extremely  alarmed, 
and  sent  for  Pott,  Heberden,  and  Schomberg,  who 
gave  him  up  the  moment  they  saw  him.  Poor 
Garrick  stared  to  see  his  room  full  of  doctors, 
not  being  conscious  of  his  real  state.  No  change 
happened  till  the  Tuesday  evening,  when  the  surgeon 
who  was  sent  for  to  blister  and  bleed  him  made 
light  of  his  illness,  assuring  Mrs  Garrick  that  he 
would  be  well  in  a  day  or  two,  and  insisted  on  her 
going  to  lie  down.  Towards  morning  she  desired  to 
be  called  if  there  was  the  least  change.  Every  time 
that  she  administered  the  draughts  to  him  in  the 

night,  he  always  squeezed  her  hand  in  a  particular 
142 


HIS  GENTLENESS  AND  PATIENCE 

manner,  and  spoke  to  her  with  the  greatest  tender- 
ness and  affection.  Immediately  after  he  had 
taken  his  last  medicine,  he  softly  said,  "  Oh  !  dear," 
and  yielded  up  his  spirit  without  a  groan,  in  his 
perfect  senses.  His  behaviour  during  the  night 
was  all  gentleness  and  patience,  and  he  frequently 
made  apologies  to  those  about  him  for  the  trouble 
he  gave  them. 

"  I  paid  a  melancholy  visit  to  his  coffin  yesterday, 
where  I  found  food  for  meditation,  till  the  mind 
'burst  with  thinking.'  His  new  house  is  not  so 
pleasant  as  Hampton,  nor  so  splendid  as  the 
Adelphi,  but  it  is  commodious  enough  for  all  the 
wants  of  its  inhabitant ;  and  besides,  it  is  so  quiet 
that  he  will  never  be  disturbed  till  the  eternal 
morning,  and  never  till  then  will  a  sweeter  voice 
than  his  own  be  heard.  May  he  then  find  mercy  ! 
They  are  preparing  to  hang  the  house  with  black, 
for  he  is  to  lie  in  state  until  Monday.  I  dislike 
this  pageantry,  and  cannot  help  thinking  that  the 
disembodied  spirit  must  look  with  contempt  upon 
the  farce  that  is  played  over  its  miserable  relics. 
But  a  splendid  funeral  could  not  be  avoided,  as  he 
is  to  be  laid  in  the  Abbey  with  such  illustrious 
dust,  and  so  many  are  desirous  of  testifying  their 
respect  by  attending." 

While  the  preparations  were  being  made  for  the 

funeral,  Mrs  Garrick  stayed  at  the  house  of  a  friend. 

But  after  the  funeral  she  returned  to  the  Adelphi. 

143 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

Hannah  More,  who  came  back  with  her,  writes : 
"  On  Wednesday  night  we  came  to  the  Adelphi — 
to  this  house  !  She  bore  it  with  great  tranquillity  ; 
but  what  was  my  surprise  to  see  her  go  alone  into 
the  chamber  and  bed  in  which  he  had  died  that  day 
fortnight.  She  had  a  delight  in  it  beyond  expres- 
sion. I  asked  her  the  next  day  how  she  went 
through  it  ?  She  told  me,  '  Very  well ' ;  that  she 
first  prayed  with  great  composure,  then  went  and 
kissed  the  dear  bed,  and  got  into  it  with  a  sad 
pleasure."  In  reference  to  Garrick's  death,  the 
same  writer  also  says :  "  I  can  never  cease  to  re- 
member with  affection  and  gratitude,  so  warm, 
steady,  and  disinterested  a  friend ;  and  I  can  most 
truly  bear  this  testimony  to  his  memory,  that  I 
never  witnessed,  in  any  family,  more  decorum, 
propriety,  and  regularity  than  in  his :  where  I  never 
saw  a  card,  or  even  met  (except  in  one  instance)  a 
person  of  his  own  profession  at  his  table :  of  which 
Mrs  Garrick,  by  her  elegance  of  taste,  her  correct- 
ness of  manners,  and  very  original  turn  of  humour, 
was  the  brightest  ornament.  All  his  pursuits 
and  tastes  were  so  decidedly  intellectual,  that  it 
made  the  society,  and  the  conversation  which  was 
always  to  be  found  in  his  circle,  interesting  and 
delightful." 


144 


CHAPTER  VII 

Garrick's  Funeral  from  the  Adelphi  —  Johnson's  Opinion  of 
Garrick  :  "  A  Liberal  Man  " — His  Death  "  Eclipsed  the 
Gaiety  of  Nations  '' — Topham  Beauclerk  and  Johnson — Mrs 
Garrick's  famous  Dinner  Party — Johnson  and  other  Celeb- 
rities Present — Described  by  Hannah  More  and  Boswell — 
Johnson's  Morning  Visit  to  Adelphi  Terrace  —  Hannah 
More's  Life  Here — Another  Dinner  Party — Death  of  Mrs 
Garrick — Shakespeare's  Gloves  sent  to  Mrs  Siddons  from 
the  Adelphi — Goldsmith  writes  from  a  Sponging-House 
to  Garrick  in  the  Adelphi — Becket,  the  Bookseller. 

The  funeral  procession  which  wended  its  way 
from  the  Adelphi  Terrace,  through  Adam  Street 
to  the  Strand  and  thence  by  way  of  Whitehall  to 
Westminster  Abbey,  on  that  winter's  morning  in 
February,  1779,  was  a  lengthy  and  imposing  one, 
though  nowadays  we  should  consider  such  pomp 
and  circumstance  very  lugubrious.  First  of  all, 
came  four  porters  on  horseback,  their  staffs,  or 
wands  of  office,  covered  with  black  silk  and  scarves. 
Then  came  six  other  men,  with  mourning  cloaks, 
followed  by  another  official  bearing  a  heavily- 
draped  pennon.     Then  came  other  six  men  carrying 

a  surcoat  of  arms,  a  helmet  with  crest,  wreath,  and 

10  145 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

mantlet.     A   state   lid   of  black   ostrich   feathers, 
surrounded  by  escutcheons,  immediately  preceded 
the  hearse,  which  was  '  full-dressed ' — that  is  to  say, 
it   bore   at   each   corner  and  on  the  sides  waving 
black  ostrich  plumes.     A  state  coach,  empty,  and 
with   a  page   on    each    side,   was   followed   by   a 
mourning    coach   containing    the   clergy  from   St 
Martin's-in-the-Fields.        Then    came     six     more 
mourning  coaches  "with   the  pall-bearers,  two  in 
each  coach,  six  pages  on  each  side.     A  ditto,  with 
the    chief  mourners,   a    page    on    each    side.      A 
ditto,  with  three  family  ditto.     A  ditto,  with  three 
physicians.     A   ditto,   with   surgeon    and   apothe- 
caries, a  page  on  each  side.     A  ditto,  with  Messrs 
Sheridan  and  Harris,  a  page  on  each  side.     Three 
ditto,    with   a   deputation    of   twelve   gentlemen, 
performers  from  Drury-Lane  theatre,  three  pages 
on  each   side.     Two  men  in  mourning,  on  horse- 
back,   with    cloaks,    etc.       Three    ditto,    with    a 
deputation  of  twelve  gentlemen,  performers  from 
Covent-garden  theatre,  three  pages   on  each  side. 
Two  men  in  mourning,  on  horseback,  with  cloaks, 
etc.     Four  mourning  coaches,  with  the  members  of 
the  literary  club,  four  pages  on  each  side.     Two  men 
in  mourning,  on  horseback,  with  cloaks.      Seven 
coaches  with  intimate  friends  of  the  deceased,  seven 
pages  on  each  side.     Mr  Garrick's  coach,  empty. 
All  the  gentlemen's  family  coaches,  empty."1     The 

1  Davies's  Garrick,  vol.  ii.,  p.  445. 
146 


GARRICK'S  FUNERAL 

body  was  received  at  the  great  west  door  of  the 
Abbey,  about  three  o'clock,  by  the  Bishop  of 
Rochester,  Dean  of  Westminster,  who,  attended 
by  the  clergy  and  choir,  preceded  the  corpse  up 
the  centre  aisle,  during  which  time  Purcell's  funeral 
music  was  played  and  sung.1 

Among  those  who  followed  the  mournful 
procession  from  the  Adelphi  were  Lord  Camden, 
the  Lord  Chancellor ;  the  Earl  of  Ossory ;  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire ;  Earl  Spencer  ;  the  Right 
Hon.  Richard  Rigby,  and  Viscount  Palmerston, 
who,  with  others,  were  the  pall-bearers.  The 
mourning  coaches  also  contained  Dr  Johnson ; 
George  Colman,  the  elder,  the  dramatist ;  John 
Dunning,  afterwards  Baron  Ashburton,  whose 
Inquiry  into  the  Doctrines  lately  promulgated 
concerning  Juries,  Libels,  etc.,  was  pronounced  by 
Horace  Walpole  "the  finest  piece  ....  written 
for  liberty  since  Lord  Somers  "  ;  Edmund  Burke  ; 
Colonel  Isaac  Barre,  the  Irish  soldier  and  politician  ; 
the  Hon.  Charles  Fox  ;  Lord  Charles  Spencer  ;  the 
deputy  usher  of  the  black  rod ;  and  many  other 
distinguished  men.  The  committee  from  Drury 
Lane  consisted  of  Richard  Yates,  Tom  King, 
Vernon,  William  Parsons,  James  Dodd — an  actor 
who,  according  to  Charles  Lamb,  "  was  a  man  of 
reading,  and  left  at  his  death  a  choice  collection  of 

1  See  also  Hannah  More's  description  of  the  funeral  in  the 
Appendix. 

147 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

old  English  literature" — Aickin,  John  Palmer — 
an  incomparable  Joseph  Surface — W.  Bensley — 
the  great  Malvolio  of  his  day — William  Brereton, 
John  Moody,  and  Robert  Baddeley.  From  Covent 
Garden,  there  came  "  Gentleman "  Lewis,  Lee 
Lewes,  John  Quick  —  George  III.'s  favourite 
comedian — and  some  nine  other  players  of  good 
repute.  It  was  said  at  the  time  that  a  greater 
concourse  of  people  attended  than  was  ever  known 
on  a  similar  occasion. 

Johnson,  as  all  students  of  the  stage  are  aware, 
had  a  sincere  admiration  for  Garrick,  a  fact  that 
is  proved  by  several  references  in  the  pages  of 
Bos  well.  A  few  months  before  the  death  of  the 
player,  Johnson  and  Boswell  dined  with  William 
Scott,  in  his  chambers  in  the  Temple.  The  con- 
versation turned  upon  fame,  and  Boswell  "slily 
introduced  "  the  name  of  David  Garrick,  "  and  his 
assuming  the  airs  of  a  great  man.  Johnson :  '  Sir, 
it  is  wonderful  how  little  Garrick  assumes.  No, 
Sir,  Garrick  fortunam  r  ever  enter  habet.  Consider, 
Sir, — celebrated  men  such  as  you  have  mentioned 
have  had  their  applause  at  a  distance ;  but  Garrick 
had  it  dashed  in  his  face,  sounded  in  his  ears,  and 
went  home  every  night  with  the  plaudits  of  a 
thousand  in  his  cranium.  Then,  Sir,  Garrick  did 
not  find,  but  made  his  way  to  the  tables,  the 
levees,  and  almost  the  bedchambers  of  the  great. 

Then,  Sir,  Garrick  had  under  him  a  numerous 
148 


JOHNSONS  PRAISE  OF  GARRICK 

body  of  people ;  who,  from  fears  of  his  power  and 
hopes  of  his  favour,  and  admiration  of  his  talents, 
were  constantly  submissive  to  him.  And  here  is 
a  man  who  has  advanced  the  dignity  of  his  pro- 
fession. Garrick  has  made  a  player  a  higher 
character.'  Scott:  'And  he  is  a  very  sprightly 
writer  too.'  Johnson:  'Yes,  Sir;  and  all  this 
supported  by  great  wealth  of  his  own  acquisition. 
If  all  this  had  happened  to  me,  I  should  have  had 
a  couple  of  fellows  with  long  poles  walking  before 
me,  to  knock  down  everybody  that  stood  in  the 
way.  Consider,  if  all  this  had  happened  to  Cibber 
or  to  Quin,  they'd  have  jumped  over  the  moon. 
Yet  Garrick  speaks  to  us'  (smiling).  Boswell: 
'  And  Garrick  is  a  very  good  man,  a  charitable 
man.'  Johnson :  '  Sir,  a  liberal  man.  He  has 
given  away  more  money  than  any  man  in  England. 
There  may  be  a  little  vanity  mixed ;  but  he  has 
shown  that  money  lis  not  his  first  object.'  Boswell: 
'  Yet  Foote  used  to  say  of  him,  that  he  walked  out 
with  the  intention  to  do  a  generous  action,  but 
turning  the  corner  of  a  street,  he  met  the  ghost 
of  a  halfpenny,  which  frightened  him.'  Johnson: 
'  Why,  Sir,  that  is  very  true,  too ;  for  I  never 
knew  a  man  of  whom  it  could  be  said  with  less 
certainty  to-day  what  he  will  do  to-morrow,  than 
Garrick  ;  it  depends  so  much  on  his  humour  at 
the  time.'  Scott :  '  I  am  glad  to  hear  of  his  liber- 
ality.    He   has   been   represented  as  very  saving.' 

149 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Johnson :  '  With  his  domestic  saving  we  have 
nothing  to  do.  I  remember  drinking  tea  with  him 
long  ago,  when  Peg  Woffington  made  it,  and  he 
grumbled  at  her  for  making  it  too  strong.  He 
had  begun  to  feel  money  in  his  purse,  and  did  not 
know  when  he  should  have  enough  of  it ! ' 

Shortly  after  Garrick's  death,  Johnson  accorded 
the  actor  praise  that  was  even  greater.  The  occa- 
sion was  a  dinner  party,  on  April  24,  1779,  at 
Topham  Beauclerk's,  at  which  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
as  well  as  Johnson  and  Boswell,  was  present. 
Boswell  mentioned  that  John  Wilkes  had  spoken 
of  Garrick  as  a  man  who  had  no  friend,  a  conten- 
tion which  Johnson  allowed  to  be  right.  " '  He 
had  friends,  but  no  friend,'  he  said.  'Garrick 
was  so  diffused,  he  had  no  man  to  whom  he  wished 
to  unbosom  himself.  He  found  people  always 
ready  to  applaud  him,  and  that  always  for  the 
same  thing ;  so  he  saw  life  with  great  uniformity.' : 
Whereupon,  Boswell,  taking  upon  himself  "for 
once,  to  fight  with  Goliath's  weapons,  and  play 
the  sophist,"  said  :  " '  Garrick  did  not  need  a  friend, 
as  he  got  from  everybody  all  that  he  wanted. 
What  is  a  friend  ?  One  who  supports  and  comforts 
you,  while  others  do  not.  Friendship,  you  know, 
Sir,  is  the  cordial  drop  "to  make  the  nauseous 
draught  of  life  go  down " ;  but  if  the  draught  be 
not  nauseous,  if  it  be  all  sweet,  there  is  no  occasion 

for  that  drop.'  Johnson  :  '  Many  men  would  not 
150 


"A  VERY  GOOD  MAN" 

be  content  to  live  so.     I  hope  I  should  not.     They 

would  wish  to  have  an  intimate  friend,  with  whom 

they   might   compare   minds   and   cherish   private 

virtues.' :      One   of  the  company  mentioned  Lord 

Chesterfield  as  a  man  who  had  no  friend.    "  Johnson : 

1  There  were  more  materials  to  make  friendship  in 

Garrick,  had   he   not  been  so  diffused.'     Boswell: 

1  Garrick  was  pure  gold,  but  beat  out  to  thin  leaf. 

Lord  Chesterfield  was  tinsel.'    Johnson  :  '  Garrick 

was  a  very  good  man,  the  most  cheerful  man  of 

his   age ;    a  decent  liver  in  a  profession  which   is 

supposed  to  give  indulgence  to  licentiousness  ;  and 

a  man  who  gave  away,  freely,  money  acquired  by 

himself.     He  began  the  world  with  a  great  hunger 

for  money ;  the  son  of  a  half-pay  officer,  bred  in 

a  family  whose  study  was  to  make  fourpence  do 

as  much  as  others  made  fourpence  halfpenny  do. 

But  when  he  had  got  money  he  was  very  liberal.' 

I  presumed  to  animadvert  on  his  eulogy  on  Garrick, 

in  his  Lives  of  the  Poets.     '  You  say,  Sir,  his  death 

eclipsed  the  gaiety  of  nations.'     Johnson  :   '  I  could 

not  have  said  more  or  less.     It  is  the  truth  :  eclipsed, 

not  extinguished ;  and  his  death  did  eclipse  ;  it  was 

like  a  storm.'     Boswell'.  'But  why  nations?     Did 

his  gaiety  extend  farther  than  his  own   nation  ? ' 

Johnson :   '  Why,  sir,  some  exaggeration  must  be 

allowed.     Besides,  nations  may  be  said — if  we  allow 

the  Scotch  to  be  a  nation — to  have  gaiety — which 

they  have   not.     You   are   an   exception,   though. 

151 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Come,  gentlemen,  let  us  candidly  admit  that  there 
is  one  Scotchman  who  is  cheerful.'  Beauclerk : 
'  But  he  is  a  very  unnatural  Scotchman.'  I,  how- 
ever, continued  to  think  the  compliment  to  Garrick 
hyperbolically  untrue.  His  acting  had  ceased 
some  time  before  his  death;  at  any  rate  he  had 
acted  in  Ireland  but  a  short  time,  at  an  early 
period  of  his  life,  and  never  in  Scotland.  I  objected 
also  to  what  appears  an  anti-climax  of  praise,  when 
contrasted  with  the  preceding  panegyric,  *  and 
diminished  the  public  stock  of  ha  unless  pleasure  ! ' 
'  Is  not  harmless  pleasure  very  tame  ? '  Johnson : 
'  Nay,  Sir,  harmless  pleasure  is  the  highest  praise. 
Pleasure  is  a  word  of  dubious  import ;  pleasure  is, 
in  general,  dangerous,  and  pernicious  to  virtue ;  to 
be  able,  therefore,  to  furnish  pleasure  that  is  harm- 
less, pleasure  pure  and  unalloyed,  is  as  great  a 
power  as  man  can  possess.' " 

Johnson  was  a  frequent  visitor  to  Adelphi 
Terrace,  for  not  only  was  he  on  intimate  terms 
with  Mr  and  Mrs  Garrick,  but  another  of  his 
friends,  Topham  Beauclerk,  lived  there  at  one 
time.  From  1757  to  1780,  there  are  frequent  and 
most  kindly  allusions  to  him  in  the  pages  of  Boswell. 
In  the  former  year,  he  matriculated  at  Oxford. 
Here  he  met  another  of  Johnson's  friends — "  High, 
shy,  and  dry  "  Bennet  Langton,  the  eminent  Greek 
scholar.     Beauclerk  was  a  man  of  culture  and  of 

great  knowledge  of  the  world.  And  he  had  the 
152 


A  MEMORABLE  DINNER  PARTY 

good  fortune  to  win  the  affectionate  regard  of  Dr 

Johnson.    On  March  10,  1768,  Lady  Diana  Spencer, 

eldest  daughter  of  the  second  Duke  of  Marlborough, 

was  divorced  from  her  husband,  Lord  St  John  and 

Bolingbroke,  and,  two  days  later,  she  was  married 

to   Beauclerk,  to  whom  "  she  made  an  excellent 

wife."      Beauclerk  died,  in  Great   Russell  Street, 

Bloomsbury,  on  March   11,  1780.     His   extensive 

library,  which  was  particularly  rich  in  English  plays, 

history,  travel,  and  science,  was  dispersed  by  auction 

in  1781. 

On  Friday,  April  20,  1781,  there  was  a  memorable 

linner  party  in  Adelphi  Terrace,  the  first  of  the 

kind  given  by  Mrs  Garrick  since  the  death  of  her 

husband.      "  We    begin    now,"   records    Hannah 

More,  who  was  staying  with  Mrs  Garrick  at  the 

time,  "  to  be  a  little  cheerful  at  home,  and  to  have 

our  small  parties.     One  such  we  have  just  had,  and 

the   day   and   evening  turned   out   very  pleasant. 

Johnson   was   in  full  song,  and  I  quarrelled  with 

him   sadly.      I   accused   him  of  not  having  done 

justice  to  the  Allegro  and  Penseroso.     He  spoke 

disparagingly  of  both.     I  praised   Lycidas,  which 

he  absolutely  abused,  adding,  '  If  Milton  had  not 

written   the   Paradise  Lost,  he   would  have  only 

ranked  among  the  minor  poets :  he  was  a  Phidias 

that  could  cut  a  Colossus  out  of  a  rock,  but  could 

not  cut  heads  out  of  cherry-stones. 

"  Boswell  brought  to  my  mind  the  whole  of  a  very 

153 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

mirthful  conversation  at  dear  Mrs  Garrick's,  and 
my  being  made  by  Sir  William  Forbes  the  umpire 
in  a  trial  of  skill  between  Garrick  and  Boswell, 
which  could  most  nearly  imitate  Dr  Johnson's 
manner.  I  remember  I  gave  it  for  Boswell  in 
familiar  conversation,  and  for  Garrick  in  reciting 
poetry.  Mrs  Boscawen  shone  with  her  usual  mild 
lustre." 

Boswell,  in  recording  this  auspicious  event  in  the 
history  of  the  Adelphi,  says  that  it  was  "  one  of  the 
happiest  days  that  I  remember  to  have  enjoyed  in 
the  whole  course  of  my  life.  Mrs  Garrick,  whose 
grief  for  the  loss  of  her  husband  was,  I  believe,  as 
sincere  as  wounded  affection  and  admiration  could 
produce,  had  this  day,  for  the  first  time  since  his 
death,  a  select  party  of  his  friends  to  dine  with  her. 
The  company  was,  Miss  Hannah  More,  who  lived 
with  her,  and  whom  she  called  her  chaplain ;  Mrs 
Boscawen,  Mrs  Elizabeth  Carter,  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds, Dr  Burney,  Dr  Johnson,  and  myself.  We 
found  ourselves  very  elegantly  entertained  at  her 
house  in  the  Adelphi,  where  I  have  passed  many  a 
pleasing  hour  with  him  who  gladdened  life.  She 
looked  well,  talked  of  her  husband  with  complacency, 
and  while  she  cast  her  eyes  on  his  portrait,  which 
hung  over  the  chimney-piece,  said,  that  '  death  was 
now  the  most  agreeable  object  to  her.'  The  very 
semblance   of  David   Garrick   was  cheering.     Mr 

Beauclerk,  with  happy  propriety,  inscribed  under 
154 


"IN  FINE  SPIRITS" 

that  fine  portrait  of  him,  which  by  Lady  Diana's 
kindness  is  now  the  property  'of  my  friend,  Mr 
Langton,  the  following  passage  from  his  beloved 
Shakespeare : — 

'  A  merrier  man, 
Within  the  limit  of  becoming  mirth, 
I  never  spent  an  hour's  talk  withal. 
His  eye  begets  occasion  for  his  wit ; 
For  every  object  that  the  one  doth  catch, 
The  other  turns  to  a  mirth-moving  jest ; 
Which  his  fair  tongue  (Conceit's  expositor) 
Delivers  in  such  apt  and  gracious  words, 
That  aged  ears  play  truant  at  his  tales, 
And  younger  hearings  are  quite  ravished  ; 
So  sweet  and  voluble  is  his  discourse.' 

"  We  were  all  in  fine  spirits  ;  and  I  whispered  to 
Mrs  Boscawen,  '  I  believe  this  is  as  much  as  can  be 
made  of  life.'  In  addition  to  a  splendid  entertain- 
ment, we  were  regaled  with  Lichfield  ale,  which 
had  a  peculiar  appropriate  value.  Sir  Joshua,  and 
Dr  Burney,  and  I,  drank  cordially  of  it  to  Dr 
Johnson's  health ;  and  though  he  would  not  join 
us,  he  as  cordially  answered,  '  Gentlemen,  I  wish 
you  all  as  well  as  you  do  me.' 

"  The  general  effect  of  this  day  dwells  upon  my 
mind  in  fond  remembrance :  but  I  do  not  find 
much  conversation  recorded.  What  I  have  pre- 
served shall  be  faithfully  given. 

"  One   of  the  company  mentioned  Mr  Thomas 

Hollis,  the  strenuous  Whig,  who  used  to  send  over 

Europe,  presents  of  democratical  books,  with  their 

155 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

boards  stamped  with  daggers  and  caps  of  liberty. 
Mrs  Carter  said,  '  he  was  a  bad  man :  he  used  to 
talk  uncharitably.'  Johnson  :  '  Poh  !  poh  !  Madam  ; 
who  is  the  worse  for  being  talked  of  uncharitably  ? 
Besides,  he  was  a  dull  poor  creature  as  ever  lived : 
and  I  believe  he  would  not  have  done  harm  to  a 
man  whom  he  knew  to  be  of  very  opposite  principles 
to  his  own.  I  remember  once  at  the  Society  of 
Arts,  when  an  advertisement  was  to  be  drawn  up, 
he  pointed  me  out  as  the  man  who  could  do  it 
best.  This,  you  will  observe,  was  kindness  to  me. 
I,  however,  slipped  away,  and  escaped  it.' 

"  Mrs  Carter  having  said  of  the  same  person, 
'  I  doubt  he  was  an  atheist.'  Johnson :  '  I  don't 
know  that.  He  might  perhaps  have  become  one, 
if  he  had  time  to  ripen  {smiling).  He  might  have 
exuberated  into  an  atheist.' 

"  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  praised  Mudge's  Sermons. 

Johnson :    '  Mudge's    Sermons   are   good   but   not 

practical.     He  grasps  more  corn  than  he  can  make 

into  meal ;  he  opens  a  wide  prospect,  but  it  is  so 

distant,  it  is   indistinct.     I  love  Blair's  Sermons. 

Though  the  dog  is  a  Scotchman,  and  a  Presbyterian, 

and  everything  he  should  not  be,  I  was  the  first 

to  praise  them.     Such  was  my  candour '  {smiling). 

Mrs  Boscawen  :  *  Such  his  great  merit,  to  get  the 

better   of  all   your  prejudices.'     Johnson :  '  Why, 

Madam,  let  us  compound  the  matter ;  let  us  ascribe 

it  to  my  candour  and  his  merit.' 
156 


A  NOTABLE  ASSEMBLY 

"  In  the  evening  we  had  a  large  company  in  the 
drawing-room  ;  several  ladies,  the  Bishop  of  Killaloe, 
Dr  Percy,  Mr  Chamberlayne  of  the  Treasury,  &c, 
&c.  Somebody  said,  the  life  of  a  mere  literary  man 
could  not  be  very  entertaining.  Johnson  :  'But  it 
certainly  may.  This  is  a  remark  which  has  been 
made,  and  repeated  without  justice ;  why  should 
the  life  of  a  literary  man  be  less  entertaining  than 
the  life  of  any  other  man  ?  Are  there  not  as  inter- 
esting varieties  in  such  a  life  ?  As  a  literary  life 
it  may  be  very  entertaining.'  Boswell :  '  But  it 
must  be  better  surely,  when  it  is  diversified  with  a 
little  active  variety — such  as  his  having  gone  to 
Jamaica ;  or — his  having  gone  to  the  Hebrides.' 
Johnson  was  not  displeased  at  this. 

"  Talking  of  a  very  respectable  author,  he  told  us 

a  curious  circumstance  in  his  life,  which  was,  that 

he  had  married  a   printer's  devil.     Reynolds :   '  A 

printer's  devil,  Sir !    Why,  I   thought  a  printer's 

devil  was  a  creature  with  a  black  face  and  in  rags.' 

Johnson :   '  Yes,  Sir.     But  I  suppose  he  had   her 

face  washed,  and  put  clean  clothes  on  her.     (Then 

looking  very  serious  and  very  earnest.)     And  she 

did  not  disgrace  him ; — the  woman  had  a  bottom 

of  good  sense.'     The  word  bottom,  thus  introduced, 

was  so  ludicrous,  when  contrasted  with  his  gravity, 

that  most  of  us  could   not   forbear   tittering   and 

laughing;    though    I  recollect  that  the  Bishop  of 

Killaloe  kept  his  countenance  with  perfect  steadi- 

157 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

ness,  while  Miss  Hannah  More  slily  hid  her  face 
behind  a  lady's  back  who  sat  on  the  same  settee 
with  her.  His  pride  could  not  bear  that  any 
expression  of  his  should  excite  ridicule,  when  he 
did  not  intend  it ;  he  therefore  resolved  to  assume 
and  exercise  despotic  power,  glanced  sternly 
around,  and  called  out,  in  a  strong  tone,  '  Where's 
the  merriment?'  Then  collecting  himself,  and 
looking  awful,  to  make  us  feel  how  he  could  impose 
restraint,  and  as  it  were  searching  his  mind  for  a 
still  more  ludicrous  word,  he  slowly  pronounced,  *  I 
say  the  woman  was  fundamentally  sensible ' ;  as  if  he 
had  said,  hear  this  now,  and  laugh  if  you  dare. 
We  all  sat  composed  as  at  a  funeral. 

"  He  and  I  walked  away  together  ;  we  stopped  a 
little  while  by  the  rails  of  the  Adelphi,  looking  on 
the  Thames,  and  I  said  to  him,  with  some  emotion, 
that  I  was  now  thinking  of  two  friends  we  had 
lost,  who  once  lived  in  the  buildings  behind  us, 
Beauclerk  and  Garrick.  '  Ay,  Sir,'  said  he  tenderly, 
'  and  two  such  friends  as  cannot  be  supplied.' 

Hannah  More   spent   many   months   with   Mrs 

Garrick — the  winter  at  Hampton,  the  spring  in  the 

Adelphi— after  the  death  of  the  celebrated  player, 

and  from  her  letters  written  in  the  Adelphi,  we 

obtain  several  passages  of  note,  apart  from  that  of 

the  famous  dinner  party  of  April  20,  1781.     Thus, 

early  in  1779,  soon  after  Garrick's  decease,  we  find 

that   the   widow  and   her   friend   were  visited   by 
158 


A  QUIET  LIFE 

various  ladies :  "  Mrs  Montague  and  Mrs  Vesey 
have  spent  one  afternoon  with  us  ;  and  these  with 
Ladies  Bathurst,  Edgecombe,  and  Spencer,  are  all 
we  have  seen."  She  then  goes  on  to  describe  her 
way  of  life  as  being  "  very  different "  from  what  it 
used  to  be  in  Garrick's  time.  "After  breakfast, 
I  go  to  my  own  apartment  for  several  hours,  where 
I  read,  write,  and  work ;  very  seldom  letting  any- 
body in,  though  I  have  a  room  for  separate  visitors, 
but  I  almost  look  on  a  morning  visit  as  an  immorality. 
At  four  we  dine.  We  have  the  same  elegant  table 
as  usual,  but  I  generally  confine  myself  to  one 
single  dish  of  meat.  I  have  taken  to  drink  half 
a  glass  of  wine.  At  six  we  have  coffee ;  at  eight 
tea,  when  we  have,  sometimes,  a  dowager  or  two 
of  quality.  At  ten  we  have  sallad  and  fruits. 
Each  has  her  book,  which  we  read  without  any 
restraint,  as  if  we  were  alone,  without  apologies  or 
speech-making."  During  this  visit,  her  play,  The 
Fatal  Falsehood,  was  produced  at  Covent  Garden, 
but,  as  already  recorded,  was  not  a  success.  It 
lacked  the  guiding  hand  of  her  old  friend.  "  We 
have  stolen  away  for  a  few  days  to  town,"  she 
writes  in  1781,  "but  I  am  now  so  habituated  to 
quiet,  that  I  have  scarcely  the  heart  to  go  out, 
though  I  am  come  here  on  purpose.  As  to  poor 
Mrs  Garrick,  she  keeps  herself  as  secret  as  a  piece 
of  smuggled  goods,  and  neither  stirs  out  herself,  or 

lets  any  body  in.     The  calm  of  Hampton  is  such 

159 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

fixed  repose,  that  an  old  woman  crying  fish,  or  the 
postman  ringing  at  the  door,  is  an  event  which 
excites  attention." 

A  little  later  on,  Mrs  Garrick  and  Hannah  More 
were  invited  to  an  assembly  at  Mrs  Thrale's.  "  Just 
as  my  hair  was  dressed,  came  a  servant  to  forbid 
our  coming,  for  that  Mr  Thrale  was  dead.  A  very 
few  hours  later,  and  he  would  have  died  in  this 
assembly.  What  an  awful  event.  He  was  in  the 
prime  of  life,  but  had  the  misfortune  to  be  too  rich, 
and  to  keep  too  sumptuous  a  table,  at  which  he 
indulged  too  freely.  He  was  a  sensible  and  re- 
spectable man.  I  am  glad  the  poor  lady  has,  in 
her  distress,  such  a  friend  as  Dr  Johnson ;  he  will 
suggest  the  best  motives  of  consolation."  A  few 
days  after  this  event,  "  we  were  a  small  and  very 
choice  party  at  Bishop  Shipley's.  Lord  and  Lady 
Spencer,  Lord  and  Lady  Althorpe,  Sir  Joshua. 
Langton,  Boswell,  Gibbon,  and,  to  my  agreeable 
surprise,  Dr  Johnson,  were  there."  This  was  the 
first  meeting  between  Johnson  and  Mrs  Garrick 
since  the  latter's  bereavement,  and,  on  the  next 
morning,  Johnson  paid  a  lengthy  visit  to  the  ladies 
at  No.  5  Adelphi  Terrace.  "On  Mrs  Garrick's 
telling  him  she  was  always  more  at  her  ease  with 
persons  who  had  suffered  the  same  loss  with  herself, 
he  said  that  was  a  comfort  she  could  seldom  have, 
considering  the  superiority  of  his  [Garrick's]  merit, 

and  cordiality  of  their  union.  He  bore  his  strong 
160 


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MRS  GARRICK'S  CONSIDERATION 

testimony  to  the  liberality  of  Garrick.     He  reproved 

me    with    pretended    sharpness    for    reading   Les 

Pensees    de  Pascal,   or   any   of   the   Port    Royal 

authors ;   alleging  that,  as   a  good    Protestant,    I 

ought  to  abstain  from  books  written  by  Catholics. 

I  was  beginning  to  stand  upon  my  defence,  when 

he  took   me   with   both   hands,  and   with   a  tear 

running  down  his  cheeks,  '  Child,'  said  he,  with  the 

most  affecting  earnestness,  '  I  am  heartily  glad  that 

you  read  pious  books,  by  whomsoever  they  may  be 

written.'"      Then   came  the  famous  dinner  party 

which  Dr  Johnson  attended,  and  that  was  his  last 

visit  to  the  Adelphi,  for,  during  Hannah  Mores 

visits   to  town  in  the  subsequent  years,  prior  to 

Johnson's  death  in  1784,  the  Doctor  was  ailing. 

So,  with  this  picture   in   the   mind's   eye   of  the 

worthy  Doctor,  in  sentimental  mood,  now  lecturing 

Hannah    More,    anon    entertaining    Mrs    Garrick 

and   her   friends,  and,  finally,  looking  across  the 

Adelphi   railings  at  the  Thames,   as   he    thought 

tenderly   of  his   dead   friends,   we   take    leave   of 

Samuel  Johnson. 

Mrs  Garrick,  who  was  a  Catholic,  be  it   said, 

was  by  no  means  prejudiced,  and  she  gave  way  to 

Hannah    More's   religious   scruples :    "  It  is   very 

considerate    in    Mrs    Garrick,   to    decline   asking 

company  on   Sunday  on   my  account ;    so   that   I 

enjoy   the   whole   day  to   myself.     I    swallow   no 

small  portion  of  theology  of  different  descriptions, 

11  161 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

as  I  always  read,  when  visiting,  such  books  as  I  do 

not  possess  at  home.     After  my  more  select  reading 

I  have  attacked  South,  Atterbury,  and  Warburton. 

In  these  great  geniuses,  and  original  thinkers,  I 

see    many   passages   of  scripture    presented   in   a 

striking  and  strong  light.     I  think  it  right  to  mix 

their  learned  labours  with  the  devout  effusions  of 

more  spiritual   writers,  Baxter,  Doddridge,  Hall, 

Hopkins,  Jeremy    Taylor    (the    Shakespeare    of 

divinity),  and   the   profound   Barrow  in  turn.      I 

devour  much,  but,  I   fear,  digest  little.     In   the 

evening,  I  read  a  sermon  and  prayers  to  the  family, 

which  Mrs  G.  much  likes."     She  frequently  went 

from  the  Adelphi  to  the  Church  of  St  Clement 

Dane's,   in   the   Strand.      It   gave    her   "peculiar 

pleasure  to  think  "  that  she  "  there  partook  of  the 

holy  sacrament  with  Johnson  the  last  time  he  ever 

received  it  in  public." 

On    a    certain   Wednesday   in    1785,   "we   had 

a  great  dinner  at  home" — in  the  Adelphi — "for 

the   first  time   this    year,   Mrs    Garrick    disliking 

company   more   and   more.     The  party   consisted 

of    the    Smelts,   the   Montagus,   the   Boyles,   the 

Walsinghams,    Mrs     Carter,    Mr    Walpole,    and 

Miss  Hamilton.     Though  I  like  them  every  one 

separately,  yet  it  was   impossible   to   enjoy  them 

altogether;  and  I  never  desire  to  sit  down  with 

more  than  six,  or  eight  at  the  outside,  to  dinner." 

In  1786,  she  records,  with   a   certain   amount   of 
162 


MRS  GARRICKS  LETTER 

ingenuousness :  "  I  am  this  day  in  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  a  most  complete  holiday — Mrs  Garrick 
is  gone  to  Hampton.  I  have  refused  all  invitations, 
and  have  ordered  that  nobody  should  be  let  in, 
that  I  may  have  the  luxury  of  one  quiet  uninter- 
rupted day.  I  woke  with  great  delight  in  the 
very  anticipation  of  it." 

It  is  a  long  jump  from  1786  to  1814,  but  Hannah 
More  had  many  occupations  during  this  period, 
and,  apparently,  but  little  time  for  writing  to  her 
old  friend,  for,  in  December  of  the  latter  year, 
Mrs  Garrick  sends  to  her,  begging  for  some  news 
of  the  world.  Her  letter  is  addressed  to  "My 
dearest  friend,"  and  runs  thus :  "  If  you  could 
imagine  how  much  pleasure  a  letter  from  you 
gives  me,  you  would  oftener  favour  me  with  one. 
As  writing  is  no  trouble  to  you,  you  might  now 
and  then  bestow  a  moment  upon  me,  to  tell  me 
what  passes  in  London ;  for  I  am  quite  un- 
acquainted with  the  world  of  folly.  I  almost 
thanked  God  for  my  illness,  during  all  the  time 
that  every  person  ran  mad  to  see  for  six  weeks 
together  the  same  thing.  Now,  if  I  could  have 
seen  the  royal  strangers  with  ease,  I  should  have 
been  glad  to  have  seen  them  ;  but  as  that  was  out 
of  my  power  (if  I  had  been  in  health),  as  I  have 
almost  out-lived  my  London  friends,  I  have  seen 
nothing,  so  I  must  trust  to  what  I  am  told. 

"  Indeed,  my  beloved  friend,  I  have  been  very 

163 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

near  parting  for  ever  from  this  world ;  but  the 
great  care  taken  of  me  set  me  up  again  upon  my 
feet,  but  not  so  high  as  my  knees,  for  they  are  as 
yet  very  doddering.  But  when  you  consider  that 
I  am  six  months  past  ninety,  you  would  say  that 
I  am  a  wonder  still  if  you  were  to  see  me.  I  do 
not  often  shew  my  teeth,  as  there  is  but  one  and 
a  quarter  left.  God  bless  you  all !  and  love  me, 
as  I  do  you  all,  from  my  very  soul."  The  death 
of  Mrs  Garrick  occurred  on  October  16,  1822 — 
over  forty-three  years  after  the  death  of  her 
husband.  She  had  been  invited  by  Robert 
William  Elliston  to  a  private  view  of  Drury 
Lane  Theatre,  which  he  had  just  redecorated, 
and,  while  preparing  to  leave  her  house  in  the 
Adelphi,  a  servant  handed  her  a  cup  of  tea.  She 
had  hardly  raised  it  to  her  lips  when  she  fell  back 
in  her  chair,  and  passed  away  peacefully,  in  her 
ninety-ninth  year.  She  was  interred  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  close  by  the  remains  of  her  husband, 
on  October  25.  The  news  of  her  death  reached 
Hannah  More  on  October  20,  and  is  thus  alluded 
to  by  her :  "I  was  much  affected  yesterday  with 
a  report  of  the  death  of  my  ancient  and  valued 
friend,  Mrs  Garrick.  She  was  in  her  hundredth 
year !  I  spent  above  twenty  winters  under  her 
roof,  and  gratefully  remember  not  only  their  per- 
sonal kindness,  but  my  first  introduction,  through 

them,  into  a  society  remarkable  for  rank,  literature, 
164 


DEATH  OF  MRS  GARRICK 

and  talents.     Whatever  was  most  distinguished  in 

either,  was  to  be  found  at  their  table.     He  was  the 

very  soul  of  conversation."     David  Garrick,  it  may 

be  recorded,  died  in  the  back-room  of  the  first  floor 

of  his  house,  his  widow  in  the  front  drawing-room. 

Mrs  Garrick  was  a  native  of  Vienna,  where,  in 

her  youth,  she  acquired  much  celebrity  as  a  dancer. 

Her  maiden  name  was  Eva  Maria  Violetta.     She 

was  remarkably  beautiful  in  her  face  and  person, 

and  it  is  said  that  she  retained,  until  the  day  of  her 

death,  that  erect  deportment  which  she  had  acquired 

as  a  dancer.     She  was  married  to  Garrick  in  June, 

1749,   first    at    a    Protestant,   then   at   a   Roman 

Catholic    Chapel.     After    the    testimony    already 

given   in  these  pages,  it   is  almost  superfluous  to 

say  that  the  actor  and  his  wife  were  a  very  happy 

couple.     "  It  is  remarkable,"  said  a  public  journal 

at  the  time  of  her  death,  "  that  during  the  whole 

period  of  their  marriage  " — thirty  years — "  whatever 

invitations  they  received,  or  excursions  they  took, 

they  never   once  slept  asunder."     On  August  15, 

1755,  Walpole  writes  :  "  I  dined  to-day  at  Garrick's  ; 

there  were  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  Lord  and  Lady 

Rochford,  Lady  Holdernesse,  the  crooked  Mostyn, 

and  Dabreu,  the  Spanish  minister ;  two  regents,  of 

which  one  is  Lord  Chamberlain,  the  other  Groom  of 

the  Stole,  and   the  wife  of  a  Secretary  of  State. 

This   being  sur  un  assez   bon   ton   for   a    player. 

Don't  you  want  to  ask  me  how  I  liked  him  ?     I 

165 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

like  her  exceedingly ;  her  behaviour  is  all  sense, 
and  all  sweetness,  too."  In  1770,  Mrs  Delany, 
Queen  Charlotte's  friend,  visited  Garrick's  house 
at  Hampton,  and  recorded  her  appreciation  of  its 
hostess :  "As  to  Mrs  Garrick,  the  more  one  sees 
her,  the  better  one  must  like  her  ;  she  seems  never 
to  depart  from  a  perfect  propriety  of  behaviour, 
accompanied  with  good  sense  and  gentleness  of 
manners."  In  her  widowhood,  she  twice  refused 
the  hand  in  marriage  of  Lord  Monboddo,  the 
Scottish  judge,  and  author  of  The  Origin  of 
Language.  Dr  Doran  says  that  Mrs  Garrick  held 
her  own  at  the  Bishop  of  London's  table,  "  against 
the  clever  men  and  women  who  held  controversy 
under  Porteus's  roof." 

This  gentle  lady,  by  a  codicil  to  her  will,  dated 
August  15,  in  the  year  of  her  death,  made  a  most 
interesting  bequest :  "  I  give  to  Mrs  Siddons  a  pair 
of  gloves  which  were  Shakespeare's,  and  were 
presented  by  one  of  his  family  to  my  late  dear 
husband,  during  the  jubilee  at  Stratford-upon- 
Avon."  Information  of  this  bequest  was  conveyed 
to  the  great  actress,  with  this  note  from  Mrs 
Garrick's  executors : — 

"5  Adelphi  Terrace, 
"Oct.  30,  1822. 

"  Madam, — We  beg  leave  to  transmit  to  you  the 

above  extract  from  a  codicil  to  Mrs  Garrick's  will, 

and  to  acquaint  you  that  we  will  have  the  honour  of 
166 


SARAH  SIDDONS 

waiting  on  you,  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  the 
relic  therein  mentioned,  whenever  you  may  be  so 
good  as  to  inform  us  that  it  may  be  convenient  to 
you  to  receive  our  visit. — We  remain,  with  much 
respect,  Madam,  Your  most  obedient  humble 
servants, 

"Thos.  Rackett,     G.  F.  Belty, 

"  Executors." 

This  connecting  link  between  Shakespeare, 
Garrick,  and  Sarah  Siddons  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  incidents  in  connection  with  the  Adelphi. 
Garrick  is  also  responsible  for  a  side-light  on  the 
life  of  Oliver  Goldsmith.  Forster,  in  his  Life  and 
Times  of  Goldsmith,  says  that  the  alteration  of  his 
first  comedy  for  Garrick,  even  upon  Garrick's  own 
conditions,  seems  to  have  suddenly  occurred  to  the 
impecunious  author  as  a  means  of  raising  money. 
Goldsmith's  two  letters  on  the  subject  by  chance 
survived  and  were  transcribed  by  Forster,  who,  in 
regard  to  the  first  one,  says  that :  "  As  well  in  the 
manner  as  in  the  matter  of  it,  the  writer's  distress 
is  very  painfully  visible.  It  has  every  appearance, 
even  to  the  wafer  hastily  thrust  into  it,  of  having 
been  the  sudden  suggestion  of  necessity ;  it  is 
addressed  without  date x  or  place  to  the  Adelphi ; 
nor  is  it  unlikely  to  have  been  delivered  there  by 
the  messenger  of  a  sponging-house. 

1  It    was    written    in    1773,    soon   after    Garrick    had   left 
Southampton  Street,  Strand,  for  the  Adelphi. 

167 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

" '  My  Dear  Sir, — Your  saying  you  would  play 
my  Good-Natured  Man  makes  me  wish  it.  The 
money  you  advanced  me  upon  Newbery's  note 
I  have  the  mortification  to  find  is  not  yet  paid, 
but  he  says  he  will  in  two  or  three  days.  What 
I  mean  by  this  letter  is  to  lend  me  sixty  pound, 
for  which  I  will  give  you  Newbery's  note,  so  that 
the  whole  of  my  debt  will  be  an  hundred,  for  which 
you  shall  have  Newbery's  note  as  a  security.  This 
may  be  paid  either  from  my  alteration  if  my  benefit 
should  come  to  so  much,  but  at  any  rate  I  will 
take  care  you  shall  not  be  a  loser.  I  will  give 
you  a  new  character  in  my  comedy  and  knock  out 
Lofty,  which  does  not  do,  and  will  make  such 
other  alterations  as  you  direct. — I  am  yours, 

" '  Oliver  Goldsmith. 

"'I  beg  an  answer.' 

"  This  letter  is  indorsed  in  Garrick's  handwriting 
as '  Goldsmith's  parlaver. '  But  though  it  would  thus 
appear  to  have  inspired  but  little  sympathy  or 
confidence,  and  the  sacrifice  of  Lofty  had  come 
too  late  and  been  too  reluctant,  Garrick's  answer, 
begged  so  earnestly,  was  not  unfavourable.  He 
evaded  the  altered  comedy ;  spoke  of  the  new 
one  already  mentioned  between  them  ;  and  offered 
the  money  required  on  Goldsmith's  own  accept- 
ance. .  .  .  The  second  note  exhibits  such  mani- 
fest improvement  in  the  writing  as  a  sudden 
168 


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ANDREW  BECKET 

removal  of  a  sore  anxiety  might  occasion  ;  but  the 
writer's  usual  epistolary  neatness  is  still  absent. 
It  is  hastily  folded  up  in  three-cornered  shape,  is 
also  sealed  with  wafer,  and  also  indorsed  by  Garrick, 
*  Goldsmith's  parlaver.' 

" ■  My  Dear  Friend,  I  thank  you  !  I  wish  I  could 
do  something  to  serve  you.  I  shall  have  a  comedy 
for  you  in  a  season  or  two  at  furthest,  that  I 
believe  will  be  worth  your  acceptance,  for  I  fancy 
I  will  make  it  a  fine  thing.  You  shall  have  the 
refusal.  I  wish  you  would  not  take  up  Newbery's 
note,  but  let  Waller '  [probably  a  mistake  for  Wallis, 
Garrick's  solicitor]  '  tease  him,  without,  however, 
coming  to  extremities  ;  let  him  haggle  after  him 
and  he  will  get  it.  He  owes  it  and  will  pay  it. 
I'm  sorry  you  are  ill.  I  will  draw  upon  you  one 
month  after  date  for  sixty  pound,  and  your  accept- 
ance will  be  ready  money,  part  of  which  I  want 
to  go  down  to  Barton  with.  May  God  preserve 
my  honest  little  man,  for  he  has  my  heart. — Ever, 

" '  Oliver  Goldsmith.'  " 

A  final  reminiscence  of  Garrick  and  this  neigh- 
bourhood shows  the  actor  soliciting  the  Adam 
brothers  on  behalf  of  Andrew  Becket,  who,  when 
the  Adelphi  was  being  erected,  had  a  bookseller's 
shop  in  the  Strand.  He  was  the  son  of  Thomas 
Becket,  the  Pall  Mall  bookseller,  whose  establish- 
ment was  frequented  by  Garrick.     He  must  have 

169 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

been  a  precocious  youth,  for,  at  the  age  of  fourteen, 
he  had  written  a  comedy  founded  on  Rousseau's 
Emile,  and  a  poem  entitled  Theodosius  and 
Constantia.  Born  in  1749,  he  died  in  1843.  He 
was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  chief  magazines 
of  his  day.  He  had  a  great  grievance  against 
Ralph  Griffiths,  the  proprietor  of  the  Monthly 
Review,  for  having  given  him  only  forty-five 
pounds  for  nearly  five  years'  work — 280  articles, 
the  result  of  reading  and  condensing  590  volumes. 
In  Shakespeare  Himself  Again,  Andrew  Becket 
"released  the  original  text  from  much  muddy 
nonsense  of  commentators." 1 

Garrick  besought  the  corner  house  of  Adam 
Street  for  his  friend,  a  request  that  was  granted. 
He  asked  for  this  "  corner  blessing,"  and  addressed 
the  architects  as  his  "  dear  Adelphi."  The  house 
was  No.  73  Strand,  at  the  north-east  corner  of 
Adam  Street.  It  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  June 
28,  1822,  but  rebuilt  according  to  the  original 
plan.  Garrick,  in  the  course  of  his  letter  to  the 
Adams,  said :  "  Pray,  my  dear  and  very  good 
friends,  think  a  little  of  this  matter,  and  if  you 
can  make  us  happy,  by  suiting  all  our  conveniences, 
we  shall  make  his  shop,  as  old  Jacob  Tonson's  was 
formerly,  the  rendezvous  of  the  first  people  in 
England.  I  have  a  little  selfishness  in  this  request 
— I  never  go  to  a  coffee-house,  seldom  to  taverns, 

1  Haunted  London,  p.  99- 
170 


A  FOOTE  STORY 

and  should  constantly  (if  this  action  takes  place) 
be  at  Becket's  at  one  at  noon  and  six  at  night." 
Garrick,  no  doubt,  meant  what  he  said,  but  there 
is  no  trace  of  his  having  visited  Andrew  Becket 
in  this  "  corner  blessing."  The  shop  is  now  occu- 
pied by  a  firm  of  silversmiths. 

Samuel  Foote,  who  hated  Garrick,  is  said  to 
have  related  a  story  in  which  1  have  little  faith. 
But,  as  it  concerns  the  great  actor  and  the  Adelphi, 
I  give  it  for  what  it  is  worth.  "  Garrick,"  said 
Foote,  "lately  invited  Hurd  to  dine  with  him  in 
the  Adelphi,  and  after  dinner,  the  evening  being 
very  warm,  they  walked  up  and  down  in  front 
of  the  house.  As  they  passed  and  repassed  the 
dining-room  windows,  Garrick  was  in  a  perfect 
agony,  for  he  saw  that  there  was  a  thief  in  one 
of  the  candles  which  was  burning  on  one  of  the 
tables ;  and  yet  Hurd  was  a  person  of  such  con- 
sequence that  he  could  not  run  away  from  him 
to  prevent  the  waste  of  his  tallow."  This  story 
was  put  into  print  by  Samuel  Rogers,  who  was 
a  boy  of  sixteen  at  the  time  of  Garrick's  death. 
Foote  died  in  1777,  when  Richard  Hurd  was 
Bishop  of  Lichfield  and  Coventry. 


171 


CHAPTER  VIII 

The  celebrated  Quack,  Dr  Graham — His  Temple  of  Health  in 
the  Adelphi — Satirised  by  Colman  and  Bannister — "  Vestina, 
the  Rosy  Goddess  of  Health" — Emma  Lyon,  Lady  Hamilton 
— Osborn's  Hotel — The  King  and  Queen  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands — Their  Death  in  the  Adelphi — Isaac  D'Israeli — The 
Earl  of  Beaconsfield — Thomas  Hill,  the  Original  of  Paul 
Pry — Thomas  Hood  and  Charles  Dickens — David  Copperfield 
and  Pickwick — Ivy  Lane — The  Fox-under-the-Hill — The 
Adelphi  "  Dark  Arches." 

The  Adelphi  has  had  its  share  of  quacks,  the  most 
impudent  of  them  all  being  Dr  Graham,  a  Scotch- 
man, who  flourished  here  from  the  summer  of  1780 
until  the  May  following,  when  he  migrated  to  Pall 
Mall.  He  occupied  the  middle  house  in  Adelphi 
Terrace,  and  in  this  place  Emma  Lyon — afterwards 
Lady  Hamilton — posed  as  the  Goddess  of  Health. 
James  Graham  was  then  approaching  the  end  of 
his  extraordinary  career,  for,  born  in  the  Cowgate, 
Edinburgh,  on  June  23,  1745,  he  died  in  1794. 
Although  he  studied  medicine  in  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  it  is  not  certain  that  he  took  his  degree, 
for,  so  late  as  1783,  he  is  described  as  "  the  person 

calling  himself  Dr  Graham."  He  passed  his  earlier 
172 


THE  PRINCE  OF  QUACKS 

life  in    Pontrefact,  being  married   there  in    1770. 

Subsequently,    he    travelled    in    America,    as   an 

oculist  and  aurist.     Returning  to  England  in  1774, 

he  practised  at  Bristol  and  Bath,  and,  a  year  later, 

established  himself  in  Pall  Mall,  nearly  opposite 

St  James's   Palace.      At  Bath,  in   1777,  he  met 

Catherine   Macaulay,   who,    a    few    months   later, 

married  his  younger  brother,  William.     Through 

his  treatment  of  her,  he  declared,  he  made  his  first 

real  start  in  life.     Be  this  as  it  may,  he  gained  the 

ear  of  the  public  about  this  time,  although  he  was 

denounced  as  a  quack  by  the  medical  profession. 

After  a  visit  to  the  continent,  during  which  he 

received  many  testimonials  from  people  in  the  first 

rank  of  society,  he  came  to  the  Adelphi  in  1779. 

His  house  and  apparatus,  it  was  stated,  cost  him 

£10,000.      The   entrance   hall   was   adorned   with 

crutches     which     had     been     discarded     by     his 

"patients,"  and,  in   the  rooms  above,  were   large, 

gaudily-decorated  electrical  machines,  glass  globes, 

marble     statues,    and    figures     of    dragons ;     the 

windows   were  of  stained  glass,  and   the   air  was 

laden  with  the  perfume  of  incense.     The  door  was 

guarded  by  huge   footmen.     One  apartment  was 

devoted  to  Apollo,  and  contained  "a  magnificent 

temple,    sacred     to     health."       He     lectured     at 

enormous  prices   and  obtained  fabulous   sums  for 

his  quack  remedies.     For  a  night  in  the  "  celestial 

bed,"  which   ensured  a   beautiful  progeny,  his  fee 

173 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

was  £100  ;  his  "  elixir  of  life  "  brought  him  a  fee  of 
one  thousand  pounds,  but  his  "  earth-bath "  was 
only  a  modest  guinea,  while  a  magneto-electric  bed 
could  be  slept  in  for  £50  a  night. 

In  August,  1780,  Horace  Walpole  visited  "  The 
Temple  of  Health  "  in  the  Adelphi,  and  pronounced 
it  "  the  most  impudent  puppet-show  of  imposition 
I  ever  saw,  and  the  mountebank  himself  the  dullest 
of  his  profession,  except  that  he  makes  spectators 
pay  a  crown  apiece  for  admission  only."  The  place 
acquired  notoriety  so  rapidly  that,  on  September  2, 
George  Colman,  the  elder,  produced  at  the  Hay- 
market  Theatre  a  skit  entitled  The  Genius  of 
Nonsense,  in  which  John  Bannister,  in  the  character 
of  the  Emperor  of  Quacks,  mimicked  Graham. 
"  His  satin  sofas  on  glass  legs,  his  celestial  bed,  his 
two  porters  in  long,  tawdry  greatcoats  and  immense 
gold-laced  cocked  hats,  distributing  handbills  at  the 
door,  while  his  goddess  of  health  was  dying  of  a 
sore  throat  from  squalling  songs  at  the  top  of  the 
staircase,  were  all  hit  off  by  a  speaking  harlequin, 
who  also  caricatured  the  doctor's  sliding  walk  and 
bobbing  bows."1  The  impostor  was  prevented 
from  buying  the  "  bill  of  the  play,"  a  burlesque  on 
his  own  handbill,  so  that  he  could  not  bring  an 
action  for  libel. 

The    following    is    an    exact    copy   of    one    of 
Graham's  advertisements : — 

1  Haunted  London,  p.  103. 
174 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  HEALTH 

Temple  of  Health,  Adelphi. 

To  their  Excellencies  the  Foreign  Ambassadors, 

To  the  Nobility,  Gentry  and  to  Persons 

of  Learning  and  Taste, 

This  Evening  exactly  at  Eight  o'Clock, 
The  Celestial  Brilliancy  of  the 
Medico-electrical  Apparatus,  in  all  the 
Apartments  of  the 

TEMPLE, 

Will  be  exhibited  by  Dr  Graham  himself, 

Who  will  have  the  honour  of  explaining  the  true 

Nature  and  effects  of  Electricity,  Air,  Music,  and 

Magnetism,  when  applied  to  the  human  body. 

In   the   introductory    Oration,   the    whole    art   of 

enjoying  health  and   vigour,  of  body  and  of 

mind,  and  of  preserving  and  exalting  personal 

Beauty  and  Loveliness ;  or,  in  other  words,  of 

living  with   health,  honour,  and  happiness  in 

this   world,   for  at  least   a  hundred  years,   is 

pointed  out  and  warmly  inculcated. 

Previous    to   the    display   of  the   electrical    Fire, 

the   Doctor   will   delicately  touch    upon    the 

Celestial  Beds,  which  are  soon  to  be  opened 

in  the  Temple  of  Hymen,  in  Pall-mall,  for 

the  propagation  of  Beings   rational,  and  far 

stronger  and  more  beautiful  in  mental  as  well 

as   in   bodily  endowments — than  the  present 

puny,    feeble,   and    nonsensical    race   of  pro- 

175 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

bationary  immortals,  which  crawl  and  fret,  and 
politely  play  at  cutting  one  another's  throats 
for    nothing    at    all,   on   most   parts   of  this 
terraqueous  globe. 
This  apparatus,  which  visibly  displays,  as  it  were, 
the  various  faculties  of  the  material   soul  of 
universal  and  eternal  Nature,  is  acknowledged 
by   all   who   have  seen  it,  to   be  by  far  the 
largest,   most   useful,   and   most    magnificent 
that  now  is,  or  that  ever  was,  in  the  world ; 
and  it  may  be  inspected  every  day,  from  Ten 
o'clock  in  the  Morning  till  four  in  the  After- 
noon.    Admittance  at  night,  5s. ;  in  the  day, 
2s.  6d. 
In     another     announcement     he     stated     that 
"  Vestina,  the  Rosy  Goddess  of  Health,  presides  at 
the    evening  lectures  at   the   Temple   of  Health, 
Adelphi,  assisting  at  the  display  of  the  Celestial 
Meteors,  and  of  that  sacred  Vital  Fire  over  which 
she  watches,  and  whose  application  in  the  Cure  of 
Diseases   she   daily  has   the  honour  of  directing." 
Graham's  "  Rosy  Goddess  of  Health  "  was  Emma 
Lyon,  who,  in  the  winter  of  1780,  when  she  posed 
in  the  Adelphi,  was  barely  twenty  years  of  age. 
Young  as  she  was,  she  had  lived  a  strange  life,  even 
then.     The  daughter  of  a  Cheshire  blacksmith,  she 
was  quite  a  child  when,  in  the  capacity  of  nurse- 
maid, she  entered  the  service  of  Mrs  Thomas,  wife 

of  a  surgeon  practising  at  Hawarden  ;  and  she  can 
176 


r. 


'A 


C 


r. 


c 

- 
f. 


EMMA  LYON 

hardly  have  been  more  than  fifteen  or  sixteen  years 
of  age  when  she  first  came  to  London.  "  Here,  for 
a  short  time,  she  is  said  to  have  been  in  service : 
first,  with  Mrs  Linley,  of  Drury  Lane  Theatre ; 
secondly,  with  Dr  Budd,  one  of  the  physicians  of 
St  Bartholomew's  Hospital ;  and  finally  at  a 
fruiterer's  in  St  James's  Market.  One  of  the 
customers  at  this  shop,  'a  lady  of  fashion,' 
attracted  by  the  girl's  manner,  her  beautiful  face, 
and  her  wonderful  auburn  hair,  engaged  her  in  the 
capacity  of  companion.  But,  fortunate  as  the 
change  at  this  time  may  have  appeared  to  her,  it 
speedily  put  an  end  to  her  opportunities  of  earning 
an  honest  living.  No  long  time  after,  we  hear  of 
her  as  living  for  a  time  with  Captain  (afterwards 
Admiral)  John  Willett  Payne,  who  is  by  some 
surmised  to  be  the  father  of  a  girl  to  whom  she 
gave  birth  about  the  end  of  1779  or  the  beginning 
of  1780.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that, 
before  she  had  completed  her  seventeenth  year,  she 
did  give  birth  to  a  child,  and  that,  as  soon  as 
possible,  it  was  transferred  to  the  care  of  her  old 
grandmother  at  Hawarden." *  Her  poverty  drove 
her  to  the  quack  doctor  of  the  Adelphi.  Soon 
after  her  appearance  here,  she  "  kept  house,"  in 
extravagant  fashion,  for  Sir  Harry  Fetherstons- 
haugh,  "  a  dissolute  baronet,"  at  Up  Park,  Sussex, 
and  became  "a   daring  and   accomplished  horse- 

1  Some  Famous  Women  of  Wit  and  Beauty,  John  Fyvie,  p.  40. 

12  177 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

woman."  At  this  time  she  called  herself  Emma 
Hart,  but  on  her  marriage,  in  1791,  to  Sir  William 
Hamilton,  she  signed  the  register  as  Amy  Lyon. 
The  subsequent  career  of  Nelson's  Lady  Hamilton 
is  too  well  known  for  repetition. 

In  the  spring  of  1781,  Graham  removed  from 
the  comparative  quiet  of  the  Adelphi  to  more 
aristocratic  quarters  in  Schomberg  House — part  of 
the  existing  War  Office— in  Pall  Mall.  His 
charges  were  slightly  lower  than  in  the  Adelphi, 
the  use  of  his  "celestial  bed"  costing  but  fifty 
pounds.  In  November,  1782,  his  property  was 
seized  for  debt,  and  was  advertised  for  sale  on 
December  20,  and  the  following  days.  He  made 
his  misfortunes  an  opportunity  for  advertisement, 
bought  in  most  of  his  goods,  and  threatened  one 
publication  with  an  action  for  libel  for  having 
published  "  an  incorrect,  mutilated,  and  nonsensical 
farrago,  which  they  impudently  and  falsely  call  Dr 
Graham's  celebrated  lecture  on  generation."  In 
March,  1783,  he  announced  that  the  "  High  Priest- 
ess of  his  Temple  delivered  lectures  to  ladies,  and 
that  the  rosy,  athletic,  and  truly  Gigantic  Goddess 
of  Health  and  of  Hymen,  on  the  Celestial  Throne," 
took  part  in  the  lectures.  Graham's  London 
career  practically  ceased  in  1783.  Ten  years  later 
he  described  himself,  in  a  book  on  earth-bathing, 
as  "  formerly  sole  institutor,  proprietor,  and  director 

of  the  Temple  of  Health  in  the  Adelphi  and  in 

178 


DEATH  OF  THE  QUACK 

Pall   Mall."      His   earth-bathing   consisted    of  re- 
maining without  clothing  in  the  earth  six  hours  at 
a  time,  for  eight  days  in  succession,  and  for  twelve 
hours  on  the  ninth  day.     In  1791,  Graham  and  a 
young  woman,  at  Newcastle,  "  stripped  into  their 
first  suits,"  and  "were  each  interred  up  to  the  chin, 
their  heads  beautifully  dressed  and  powdered,  ap- 
pearing not  unlike  two  fine  full-grown  cauliflowers." 
Graham   subsequently   became   a   religious    en- 
thusiast, took  to  opium,  and  was  confined  in   his 
own  house   in   Edinburgh   as   a   lunatic.     A   few 
months  before  his  death,  he  made  an  affidavit,  in 
which  he  stated  that  from  the  last  day  of  December 
1792,  to  January  15,  1793,  he  neither  ate,  drank, 
nor  took  anything  but  cold  water,  sustaining  life 
by  wearing  cut-up  turfs  against  his  naked   body, 
and  by  rubbing  his  limbs  with  his  own   nervous 
asthereal  balsam.     He  died  suddenly  at  his  house, 
opposite  the  Archers'  Hall,  Edinburgh,  on  June  23, 
1794.     Graham,  though  a   quack,  and   possibly  a 
madman,  was  not  without  some  knowledge.     He 
was  against  flesh-eating  and  excess  in  alcohol,  and 
believed  in  cold  bathing,  open   windows,  sleeping 
on  mattresses,  and  other  points  of  severe  hygiene  ; 
at  one  time,  he  stated,  he  never  ate  more  than 
the  worth  of  four  or  six  pence  a  day.     He  asserted 
that  all  diseases  were  caused  by  wearing  too  much 
clothing,  and  he  wore  no  woollen  clothes.     Southey 

saw  this  "  half  knave,  half  enthusiast "  thrice,  once 

179 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

in  his  mud-bath.  He  says  that  latterly  Graham 
"  would  madden  himself  with  opium,  rush  into  the 
streets,  and  strip  himself  to  clothe  the  first  beggar 
he  met."1 

At  Osborn's  Hotel,  which  still  exists,  under  the 
name  of  the  Adelphi  Hotel,  at  the  corner  of  John 
and  Adam  Streets,  the  King  and  Queen  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands  died,  from  small-pox,  in  1824. 
Rhio-Rhio  was  the  son  and  successor  of  the  first 
king,  Tamehameha,  who  placed  the  Islands  under 
British  protection.  The  Queen  died  on  July  8. 
"  The  King,"  said  a  contemporary  print,  "  in  the 
midst  of  this  deep  sorrow  manifests  a  firmness  of 
mind  which  has  penetrated  everybody  about  him 
with  a  feeling  of  respect.  Though  very  anxious  to 
express  his  grief  in  the  manner  of  his  country,  and 
to  show  the  marks  of  deference  which  are  usually 
paid  to  the  dead  there,  he  submits,  with  good  sense 
and  patience,  to  every  suggestion  which  our  habits 
dictate."  The  King  died,  at  the  same  place,  on 
September  14.  The  visit  of  King  Tamehameha 
and  his  consort  to  England  gave  rise  to  the 
popular  song,  "The  King  of  the  Cannibal  Islands." 
This  hotel  was  originally  called  "The  Adelphi  New 
Tavern  and  Coffee-House,"  and  was  opened  in 
October,  1777,  "  being  completely  fitted  up  in  the 
most  elegant  and  convenient  manner  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  noblemen  and  gentlemen."     Gibbon, 

1  Dictionary  of  National  Biography,  vol.  xxii.,  p.  323. 
180 


THE  EARL  OF  BEACONSFIELD 

writing  to  Lord  Sheffield  on  August  8,  1787,  from 
the  Adelphi  Hotel,  imparts  a  piece  of  "Intelligence 
extraordinary.  This  day  (August  the  seventh)  the 
celebrated  E.  G.  arrived  with  a  numerous  retinue 
(one  servant).  We  hear  that  he  has  brought  over 
from  Lausanne  the  remainder  of  his  History  for 
immediate  publication."  In  1813,  George  Crabbe, 
the  poet,  and  his  wife  stayed  in  the  Adelphi  during 
a  visit  to  London.  Dr  Thomas  Munro,  Turner's 
patron,  resided  here,  and  on  April  22,  1827. 
Thomas  Rowlandson,  the  famous  caricaturist,  died 
here.  Isaac  D'Israeli,  the  author  of  Curiosities  of 
Literature,  and  father  of  the  Earl  of  Beaconsfield, 
stayed  at  Osborn's  Hotel  after  his  wedding  tour, 
in  1802. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  Benjamin  Disraeli 
was  born  in  the  Adelphi.  The  authority  for  this 
statement  is  Lord  Barrington,  who,  during  the 
Earl  of  Beaconsfield's  last  illness,  questioned  him 
on  the  point.  "  I  was  born  in  the  Adelphi,"  was 
the  reply,  "  and  I  may  say  in  a  library.  My  father 
was  not  rich  when  he  married.  He  took  a  suite  of 
apartments  in  the  Adelphi,  and  he  possessed  a 
large  collection  of  books ;  all  the  rooms  were 
covered  with  them,  including  that  in  which  I  was 
born."  Mr  Wheatley,  however,  says  that  "  careful 
investigation  has  left  little  doubt  that  this  was  not 
the  case,  as  Isaac  D'Israeli  had  left  the  Adelphi " — 

where  he  had  a  lease  of  the  first  floor  of  No.  2 

181 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

James  Street — "  for  King's  Road  (now  Theobald's 
Road)  before  the  birth  of  Benjamin." 

In  James  Street,  on  the  second  floor  of  No.  1, 
there  lived  and  died  a  celebrated  character,  Thomas 
Hill  (1760-1840),  the  book-collector  and  patron  of 
Bloomfield  and  Kirke  White.  He  was  the  fussy, 
good-natured  Hull  of  Theodore  Hook's  novel, 
Gilbert  Gurney  (1836).  More  notable  still,  he 
was  the  original  of  Paul  Pry,  in  Poole's  comedy 
(1825).  Paul  Pry  is  an  idle,  inquisitive,  meddle- 
some fellow  who,  without  any  occupation  of  his 
own,  is  for  ever  thrusting  himself  upon  other  people 
with  the  apology,  "  I  hope  I  don't  intrude."  John 
Liston  (1776-1846)  was  the  first  stage  repre- 
sentative of  the  character,  and  the  part  was  fre- 
quently acted  by  the  late  John  Lawrence  Toole. 
"  Tommy  "  Hill,  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  always 
boasted  that  he  had  whatever  was  wanted :  "  Cards, 
sir  ?  Pooh  !  pooh  !  Nonsense  !  thousands  of  packs 
in  the  house."  Planch  e  says  of  him :  "  His 
specialite  was  the  accurate  information  he  could 
impart  on  all  the  petty  details  of  the  domestic 
economy  of  his  friends,  the  contents  of  their  ward- 
robes, their  pantries,  the  number  of  pots  of  preserve 
in  their  store-closets,  and  of  the  table-napkins  in 
their  linen-presses,  the  dates  of  their  births  and 
marriages,  the  amounts  of  their  tradesmen's  bills, 
and  whether  paid  weekly  or   quarterly.     He   had 

been  on  the  press,  and   was   connected   with   the 

182 


CHARLES  DICKENS 

Morning  Chronicle.  He  used  to  drive  Mathews 
crazy  by  ferreting  out  his  whereabouts  when  he 
left  London,  and  popping  the  information  in  some 
paper." 

Two  of  the  most  celebrated  literary  names 
connected  with  the  Adelphi  are  Thomas  Hood  and 
Charles  Dickens.  Hood,  soon  after  his  marriage 
in  1824,  lived  in  chambers  at  No.  2  Robert  Street, 
his  acquaintanceship  at  that  time  including  Charles 
Lamb,  Hazlitt,  and  De  Quincey.  His  association 
with  the  Adelphi  continued  until  the  end  of  his 
career,  for  his  Magazine ;  established  in  1844 — 
the  year  before  his  death — was  published  from 
No.  1  Adam  Street.  Dickens  knew  the  Adelphi 
well.  As  a  boy  he  frequented  its  underground 
passages,  and,  later  on,  he  used  Osborn's  Hotel 
(the  Adelphi  Hotel)  for  a  scene  in  Pickwick.1     He 

1  After  the  release  of  Mr  Pickwick,  Mr  Wardle  and  his  family 
had  apartments  in  the  Adelphi  Hotel.  There  Dickens  laid  the 
scene  of  one  of  his  best  chapters  :  "  Driving  to  the  George  and 
Vulture,  they  found  that  Arabella  and  her  maid  had  sent  for  a 
hackney-coach  immediately  on  the  receipt  of  a  short  note  from 
Emily  announcing  her  arrival  in  town,  and  had  proceeded 
straight  to  the  Adelphi.  As  Wardle  had  business  to  transact  in 
the  city,  they  sent  the  carriage  and  the  fat  boy  to  his  hotel, 
with  the  information  that  he  and  Mr  Pickwick  would  return 
together  to  dinner  at  five  o'clock. 

"  Now,  whether  the  shake  had  jumbled  the  fat  boy's  faculties 
together,  instead  of  ai'ranging  them  in  proper  order,  or  had 
roused  such  a  quantity  of  new  ideas  within  him  as  to  render  him 
oblivious  of  ordinary  forms   and  ceremonies,  or   (which  is  also 

183 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

is  recording  his  own  experiences  when,  in  David 
Copperfield,  he  says :  "I  was  fond  of  wandering 
about  the  Adelphi,  because  it  was  a  mysterious 
place,  with  those  dark  arches.  I  see  myself  emerg- 
ing one  evening  from  some  of  these  arches,  on  a 
little  public-house  close  to  the  river,  with  an  open 
space  before  it,  where  some  coal-heavers  were 
dancing ;  to   look   at  whom,  I    sat  down  upon   a 

possible)  had  proved  unsuccessful  in  preventing  his  falling 
asleep  as  he  ascended  the  stairs,  it  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  he 
walked  into  the  sitting-room  without  previously  knocking  at  the 
door,  and  so  beheld  a  gentleman  with  his  arm  clasping  his 
young  mistress's  waist,  sitting  very  lovingly  by  her  side  on  a 
sofa,  while  Arabella  and  her  pretty  handmaid  feigned  to  be 
absorbed  in  looking  out  of  a  window  at  the  other  end  of  the 
room.  At  sight  of  which  phenomenon  the  fat  boy  uttered  an 
interjection,  the  ladies  a  scream,  and  the  gentleman  an  oath, 
almost  simultaneously. 

tt  c  Wretched  creature  !  what  do  you  want  here  ? '  said  the 
gentleman,  who,  it  is  needless  to  say,  was  Mr  Snodgrass. 

"  To  this  the  fat  boy,  considei'ably  terrified,  briefly  responded, 
'Missis.' 

" '  What  do  you  want  me  for  ? '  inquired  Emily,  turning  her 
head  aside  ;  '  you  stupid  creature.' 

"'Master  and  Mr  Pickwick  is  going  to  dine  here  at  five,' 
replied  the  fat  boy. 

" '  Leave  the  room  ! '  said  Mr  Snodgrass,  glaring  upon  the 
bewildered  youth. 

" '  No,  no,  no  ! '  added  Emily,  hastily.     '  Bella,  dear,  advise  me.' 

"  Upon  this,  Emily  and  Mr  Snodgrass,  and  Arabella  and  Mary, 
crowded  into  a  corner  and  conversed  earnestly  in  whispers  for 
some  minutes,  during  which  the  fat  boy  dozed. 

"  There  was  so  much  to  say  upstairs,  and  there  were  so  many 
plans  to  concert  for  elopement  and  matrimony  in  the  event  of 
184 


^ 

< 


f. 


r- 

y. 


z 


DAVID  COPPERFIELD 

bench.  I  wonder  what  they  thought  of  me ! " 
This  was  also  the  scene  of  the  meeting  of  the 
Micawbers  and  Copperfield  prior  to  the  departure 
of  the  impecunious  Wilkins  for  Australia :  "  The 
Micawber  family  were  lodged  in  a  little,  dirty, 
tumble-down  public-house,  which  in  those  days 
was  close  to  the  stairs,  and  where  protruding 
wooden  rooms  over-hung  the  river.  The  family, 
as  emigrants,  being  objects  of  some  interest  in  and 

old  Wardle  continuing  to  be  cruel,  that  it  wanted  only  half  an 
hour  to  dinner  when  Mr  Snodgrass  took  his  final  adieu.  The 
ladies  ran  to  Emily's  bedroom  to  dress,  and  the  lover,  taking  up 
his  hat,  walked  out  of  the  room.  He  had  scarcely  got  outside 
the  door  when  he  heard  Wardle's  voice  talking  loudly ;  and 
looking  over  the  banisters,  beheld  him,  followed  by  some  other 
gentlemen,  coming  straight  upstairs.  Knowing  nothing  of  the 
house,  Mr  Snodgrass  in  his  confusion  stepped  hastily  back  into 
the  room  he  had  just  quitted,  and  passing  from  thence  into  an 
inner  apartment  (Mr  Wardle's  bedchamber),  closed  the  door 
softly,  just  as  the  persons  he  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  entered 
the  sitting-room.  These  were  Mr  Wardle  and  Mr  Pickwick, 
Mr  Nathaniel  Winkle,  and  Mr  Benjamin  Allen,  whom  he  had 
no  difficulty  in  recognising  by  their  voices. 

"The  wine  came,  and  Perker  came  upstairs  at  the  same 
moment.  Mr  Snodgrass  had  dinner  at  a  side-table,  and,  when 
he  had  dispatched  it,  drew  his  chair  next  Emily,  without  the 
smallest  opposition  on  the  old  gentleman's  part. 

"The  evening  was  excellent.  Little  Mr  Perker  came  out 
wonderfully,  told  various  comic  stories,  and  sang  a  serious  song, 
which  was  almost  as  funny  as  the  anecdotes.  Arabella  was 
very  charming,  Mr  Wardle  very  jovial,  Mr  Pickwick  very 
harmonious,  Mr  Ben  Allen  very  uproarious,  the  lovers  very 
silent,  Mr  Winkle  very  talkative,  and  all  of  them  very  happy." 
— The  Posthumous  Papers  of  the  Pickwick  Club,  chap.  liv. 

185 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

about  Hungerford,  attracted  so  many  beholders, 
that  we  were  glad  to  take  refuge  in  their  room. 
It  was  one  of  the  wooden  chambers  upstairs,  with 
the  tide  flowing  underneath.  ...  I  went  down 
again  next  morning  to  see  that  they  were  away. 
They  had  departed,  in  a  boat,  as  early  as  five 
o'clock.  It  was  a  wonderful  instance  to  me  of  the 
gap  such  partings  make,  that  although  my  associa- 
tion of  them  with  the  tumble-down  public-house 
and  the  wooden  stairs  dated  only  from  last  night, 
both  seemed  dreary  and  deserted,  now  that  they 
were  gone." * 

This  "little,  dirty,  tumble-down  public-house" 
of  Dickens  was  the  "  Fox-under-the-Hill."  It 
stood  at  the  bottom  of  Ivy  Lane.  The  ram- 
shackle building  disappeared  with  the  formation  of 
the  Victoria  Embankment  and  Gardens,  but  the 
passage  in  question  still  remains,  and,  although  it 
is  not  noticed  by  the  thousands  of  people  who 
walk  by  it  daily,  Ivy  Lane  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  bits  of  old  London.  Stow,  in  his 
Survey,  alludes  to  it  thus :  "  Ivy  Bridge,  in  the 
High  Street,  which  had  a  way  under  it  leading  to 
the  Thames,  the  like  as  sometime  had  the  Strand 
Bridge,  is  now  taken  down,  but  the  lane  remaineth 
as  afore ;  or  better,  and  parteth  the  liberty  of  the 
Duchy  (of  Lancaster)  and  the  city  of  Westminster 
on  that   south-side."     Strype   adds  that  the   lane 

1  David  Copperfield,  chap.  lvii. 
186 


THE  "DARK  ARCHES" 

was  "  very  bad  and  almost  impassable."  As  it  was 
very  narrow,  and  the  descent  was  steep,  its  in- 
convenience is  easily  understood.  The  passage 
is  still  here,  but,  at  the  river  end,  it  is  enclosed 
by  gates.  Ivy  Bridge,  or  Pier,  was  the  landing- 
place  for  the  halfpenny  steamboats  which  plied 
between  the  Strand  and  London  Bridge.  Here  a 
lamentable  explosion,  by  which  many  people  were 
killed,  occurred  in  August,  1847,  on  the  Cricket, 
and,  soon  afterwards,  the  "  Fox  "  landing-stage  was 
disused. 

From  the  "  Fox-under-the-Hill"  it  is  an  easy 
transition  to  the  "  dark  arches "  which  made  such 
an  impression  on  the  mind  of  Charles  Dickens. 
They  form  a  small  town  in  themselves,  and  al- 
though tenanted  by  wine-merchants,  and  other 
law-abiding  people,  they  are  still  "  mysterious ' 
enough  to  strike  one  with  wonderment  that  such  a 
dreary  spot  can  exist  within  hail  of  the  busy  Strand. 
"  The  Adelphi  arches,  many  of  which  are  used  for 
cellars  and  coal- wharves,"  wrote  John  Timbs,  half 
a  century  ago,  "  remind  us,  in  their  grim  vastness, 
of  the  Etruscan  cloaca  of  ancient  Rome.  Beneath 
the  '  dark  arches,'  as  they  were  (and  are)  called, 
the  most  abandoned  characters  used  to  lurk ;  out- 
casts and  vagrants  came  there  to  sleep ;  and  many 
a  street-thief  escaped  from  his  pursuers,  before 
the    introduction    of    gas-lights    and    a    vigilant 

police.      Even   now    tramps   prowl    in   a   ghastly 

187 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

manner  down  the  dim-lit  passages."  The  con- 
dition of  things  has  not  changed  much  during 
these  fifty  years,  and  a  stranger  would  be 
well-advised  in  not  venturing  on  a  voyage  of 
discovery  through  this  strange  region,  alone. 
Augustus  Egg  placed  the  scene  of  one  of  his  most 
tragic  pictures  on  the  banks  of  the  river  by  the 
Adelphi  arches.  In  these  caverns  a  battery  of 
guns  was  held  in  readiness  in  connection  with  the 
great  Chartist  meeting,  on  Kennington  Common, 
on  April  10,  1848.  The  piers  on  which  the  arches 
rest  having  shown  signs  of  insecurity,  the  entire 
structure  was  underpinned,  and  strengthened  in 
other  ways,  in  the  years  1872-4. 

The  Adelphi  arches  were  a  source  of  wonder- 
ment to  Londoners  in  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. Thomas  Miller,  the  poet  and  novelist,  writ- 
ing in  1850,  gives  a  vivid  description  of  them : 
"  Thousands  who  pass  along  the  Strand  never 
dream  of  the  shadowy  region  which  lies  between 
them  and  the  river — the  black-browed  arches  that 
span  right  and  left,  before  and  behind,  covering 
many  a  rood  of  ground  on  which  the  rain  never 
beats,  nor  the  sunbeam  sleeps,  and  at  the  entrance 
of  which  the  wind  only  seems  to  howl  and  whine, 
as  if  afraid  of  venturing  further  into  the  darkness. 
Many  of  our  readers  will,  no  doubt,  conclude  that 
such  a  dreary  place  as  this  must  be  deserted  and 

tenantless :  such  is  not  the  case.      Here  many  of 
188 


COWS  IN  THE  ADELPHI 

those  strong  horses,  which  the  countryman  who 
visits  London  looks  upon  with  wonder  and  envy, 
are  stabled — strong,  broad-chested  steeds,  such  as 
may  be  seen  dragging  the  heavily-laden  coal- 
waggons  up  those  steep  passages  which  lead  into 
the  Strand,  and  which  seem  'to  the  manner  born.' 

"  Cows  are  also  kept  here,  which,  rumour  says, 
never  saw  any  other  light  beyond  that  of  the  gas 
which  gleams  through  their  prison-bars,  or,  by  way 
of  change,  the  cheering  rays  from  a  lantern,  when 
they  are  milked  or  fed ;  that  here  many  of  them 
were  calved,  and  have  lived  on,  giving  milk  to  a 
good  old  age — buried  like  the  main-pipe  that  sup- 
plies us  with  water  and  finds  its  way  into  our 
houses  without  our  once  enquiring  how.  We 
have  often  pitied  the  London  cows,  which  we  have 
seen  driven  up  one  street  and  down  another,  and 
have  fancied  that  what  little  milk  they  had  must 
have  been  churned  into  indifferent  butter,  as  they 
ran  on,  to  escape  the  stones  thrown  after  them  by 
boys,  while  mongrels  were  ever  sallying  out,  and 
either  biting  or  barking  at  their  heels  ;  but  we  had 
not  seen  those  which  are  doomed  to  dwell  in  the 
unbroken  darkness  of  the  Adelphi  arches,  without 
ever  breathing  any  other  than  the  sepulchral  air 
which  stagnates  this  murky  purgatory.  Assuredly 
they  ought  to  be  taken  out  for  a  little  fresh  air  now 
and  then,  and  be  led  by  the  horns  to 

if 

*  Fresh  fields  and  pastures  new  ' ; 

189 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

for  we  can  readily  conceive  how  pleased  and 
patiently  they  would  go  'blinking'  along,  com- 
pared to  those  horned  blackguards  who  come  with 
a  butt  and  a  '  boo '  at  us  as  they  return  from 
Smithfleld,  and,  before  we  have  time  to  say  '  Now, 
stupid ! '  pitch  us  over  the  battlements  of  one  of 
the  bridges,  and  leave  us  to  sink  or  swim. 

"  The  Adelphi  arches  form  a  little  subterranean 
city ;  there  is  nothing  like  it  in  England  :  in  some 
places  you  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  river,  a  small  loop- 
hole that  lets  in  the  light  like  the  end  of  a  railway 
tunnel,  yet  seeming  to  diminish  more  than  these 
tunnels,  on  account  of  the  steep  descent,  until  one 
of  the  steamers,  in  passing,  appears  to  fill  up 
the  opening  like  a  half-closed  door.  Beside  these 
arches  there  are  narrow  passages  which  go  dipping 
down  to  the  water-side,  where  on  either  hand 
houses  stand  looking  at  one  another  in  the  openings 
between  the  darkness.  There  is  a  dismal  and  soli- 
tary look  about  these  tall  imprisoned  houses ;  you 
cannot  conceive  how  they  are  entered,  for  there 
appears  to  be  no  way  to  them,  and  you  conclude 
that  they  are  empty.  Or,  if  they  are  inhabited, 
you  wonder  if  the  people  ever  look  out  of  those 
dim,  dirt-ditched  windows  at  the  dead-looking  walls 
opposite.  We  have  turned  back,  and  hunted  up 
and  down  looking  from  below,  but  nowhere  could 
we  obtain  a  view  of  the  entrance  to  those  mur- 
derous-looking houses.  We  once  saw  a  butterfly 
190 


THE  VICTORIA  EMBANKMENT 

which  had  lost  its  way,  and  got  into  the  little  light 
which  had  stolen  out  to  look  at  the  entrance  of 
these  arches :  it  went  up  and  down,  and  hither  and 
thither,  seeming  to  become  feebler  every  moment, 
as  if  it  had  given  up  all  hope  of  ever  swinging  with 
folded  wings,  like  a  pea-bloom,  on  the  flowers  again, 
and  we  doubted  not  but  that  it  found  a  grave  amid 
the  green  decay  of  some  rotten  water-butt."  The 
cows  have  disappeared,  and  the  muddy  wharves 
have  been  replaced  by  pleasant  gardens  and  the 
busy  hum  of  workshops,  but  the  "  subterranean 
city  "  is  likely  to  exist  in  its  present  form  for  many 
years  to  come.  The  embankment,  the  construc- 
tion of  which  involved  the  abolition  of  the  Adelphi 
wharves,  was  opened  in  1870  by  the  Prince  of 
Wales  (Edward  VII.),  as  the  representative  of 
Queen  Victoria.  This  magnificent  example  of 
engineering  was  begun  in  1862,  and  the  cost  was 
about  £2,000,000. 


191 


CHAPTER   IX 

The  First  Bankers — Middleton  &  Campbell,  predecessors  of 
Coutts  &  Co.,  "at  The  Three  Crowns  in  the  Strand"— 
Patrick  and  John  Coutts — Patrick  and  Thomas  Coutts  in 
London — Death  of  James  Coutts — Enter,  Thomas  Coutts — 
Letter  by  Him— His  Stern  Character — Married  to  Harriot 
Mellon  — Susan  Starkie  and  "The  Three  Graces"  —  Sir 
Francis  Burdett — Angela  Georgina  Burdett — The  Duchess 
of  St  Albans — Anecdotes  of  Thomas  Coutts — His  Personal 
Appearance — Interior  of  the  Bank — The  Chinese  Wall- 
Paper  —  The  Adelphi  Chapel  —  Illustrious  Customers  of 
Messrs  Coutts  —  Partners  in  the  Firm  —  The  Wills  of 
Thomas  Coutts  and  the  Duchess  of  St  Albans  —  The 
Savage  Club — Thomas  Hardy — E.  L.  Blanchard. 

Queen  Elizabeth  "  was  particularly  kind  to  the 

citizens,   and    borrowed    money   of   them    on   all 

occasions."     At   first   sight   this   may  not  seem  a 

compliment,  since  monarchs  have  not  always  been 

too  particular  in  the  matter  of  the  repayment  of 

their  loans.     Queen  Elizabeth,  however,  was  a  good 

borrower,  and  the  Goldsmiths  Company — employed 

by  her  in  these  transactions — drank  annual  libations 

to  her  memory,  out  of  a  silver  cup  which  she  had 

presented  to  them,  for  many  years  after  her  decease. 

But  "  the  business  of  goldsmiths,"  as  Pennant  has 
192 


THE  FIRST  BANKERS 

pointed  out,  "was  confined  to  the  buying  and 
selling  of  plate,  and  foreign  coins  of  gold  and  silver, 
melting  them,  and  coining  others  at  the  mint.  The 
banking  was  accidental,  and  foreign  to  their  insti- 
tution. Regular  banking  by  private  people  re- 
sulted, in  1643,  from  the  calamity  of  the  time, 
when  the  seditious  spirit  was  incited  by  the  arts  of 
the  parliamentary  leaders.  The  merchants  and 
tradesmen,  who  before  trusted  their  cash  to  their 
servants  and  apprentices,  found  that  no  longer 
safe ;  neither  did  they  dare  to  leave  it  in  the  mint 
at  the  Tower,  by  reason  of  the  distress  of  Majesty 
itself,  which  before  was  a  place  of  public  deposit." 
In  the  year  1645,  the  goldsmiths  added  banking 
to  their  business.  The  first  regular  banker  was 
Thomas  Child,  goldsmith,  of  Fleet  Street,  who 
began  in  this  way  soon  after  the  Restoration. 
"  He  was  the  father  of  the  profession,  a  person  of 
large  fortune  and  most  respectable  character."1 

The  shops  of  the  goldsmiths  and  bankers  were, 
of  course,  situated  in  the  city  of  London  until,  in 
1692,  the  firm  of  Middleton  &  Campbell  was 
established  in  St  Martin's  Lane.  George  Middle- 
ton  and  John  Campbell  were  the  predecessors  of 
the   great   banking  firm  known  as  Coutts  &  Co., 

1  Pennant's  Account  of  London,  ed.  1813,  p.  537.  It  has 
been  stated  recently  that  Messrs  Martin  &  Co.,  of  Lombard 
Street,  the  direct  successors  of  Sir  Thomas  Gresham  (1519- 
1579),  are  the  oldest  bankers  in  London.  But  I  prefer  to 
believe  Pennant. 

13  193 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

whose  premises  in  the  Strand  occupied  part  of  the 
New  Exchange  and  the  Adelphi  for  one  hundred 
and  sixty  odd  years.  Campbell,  who  died  in  1712, 
and  was  buried  in  the  churchyard  of  St  Paul's, 
Covent  Garden,  left  his  "faithful  and  honest 
partner "  as  executor  to  his  four  children  until  the 
coming  of  age  of  his  eldest  son,  William.  In  1729, 
the  youngest  son  of  John  Campbell  became  a 
partner.  Until  1737,  the  business  was  carried  on 
in  St  Martin's  Lane,  then  the  centre  of  the  artistic 
world  of  London.  In  that  year  Messrs  Middleton 
&  Campbell  occupied  the  middle  house  of  a  row 
of  eleven  which  had  been  built  on  the  site  of 
"Britain's  Burse."  The  firm  did  not  become 
"bankers"  until  1740,  although  it  had  transacted 
the  usual  banking  business,  together  with  an  army 
and  commission  agency,  for  many  years  previously. 
In  1712-13  Middleton  &  Campbell  had  acted  as 
agents  for  Queen  Anne's  4th  Troop  of  Guards. 
The  name  of  the  firm  was  changed  to  that  of 
Coutts  in  1760,  and  it  is  by  this  honoured  name 
that  it  is  likely  to  be  known  so  long  as  it  exists — 
and  that  will  be  so  long  as  banking  flourishes  as  an 
institution  in  this  country.  The  original  sign  of 
the  house,  three  crowns,  is  still  used  on  the  cheques, 
surrounded  by  the  words :  "At  the  Three  Crowns 
in  the  Strand,  next  door  to  the  Globe  Tavern, 
a.d.  1692." 

The  story  of  the  change  in  the  name  of  the  firm 
194 


PATRICK  COUTTS 

is  curious  and  interesting.  This  history  being  more 
particularly  concerned  with  Thomas  Coutts,  and 
his  establishment  in  the  Strand,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  go  further  into  his  genealogy  than  to  state  that 
the  great  banker  was  a  descendant  of  William 
Coutts  and  his  wife,  Janet  Ochiltree,  of  Montrose. 
One  Patrick  Coutts,  desirous  of  making  a  name 
for  himself,  left  Montrose  and  went  to  Edinburgh, 
where  he  traded  as  a  general  merchant,  importing 
and  exporting  goods,  in  1696.  He  died  in  1704, 
a  man  of  probity  and  wealth.  He  left  his  great 
fortune  to  his  son  John,  who  also  flourished  in 
Edinburgh  as  a  merchant.  "  The  business  initiated 
by  John  Coutts  was  a  combination  of  general 
dealing  and  the  negotiation  of  foreign  bills  of 
exchange.  He  also  imported  and  sold  corn,  either 
on  his  own  account  or  as  a  commission  agent.  But 
in  proportion  as  he  advanced  in  business  and 
acquired  spare  capital,  as  well  as  the  confidence  of 
persons  who  deposited  with  him  money  at  interest, 
he  appears  to  have  laid  himself  out  chiefly  as  a 
negotiator  of  bills,  a  species  of  traffic  which  as  yet 
had  not  been  appropriated  by  banks,  and  de- 
manded much  knowledge  and  shrewdness.  Whether 
from  family  connections  or  otherwise,  he  became 
acquainted  with  people  of  good  social  standing, 
through  whom  he  widened  his  base  of  operations. 
For  some  time  he  had  for  a  partner  Thomas  Hali- 

burton,  of  Newmains   (who   through   a  daughter 

195 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

became  the  great-grandfather  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott) ;  next  we  find  him  taking  as  partner 
Archibald  Trotter,  son  of  Trotter,  of  Castleshiel ; 
then  by  another  change  of  firm  he  was  associated 
with  his  cousin,  Robert  Ramsay,  brother  of  Sir 
Alexander,  of  Balmain.  As  further  marking  the 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  aristocratic 
circles  of  Edinburgh,  he  formed  an  intimacy  with 
Sir  John  Stuart,  of  Allanbank,  whose  sister  he 
married."1 

John  Coutts,  who  was  Provost  of  Edinburgh  in 
1742-43,  died  in  1751,  leaving  four  sons,  Patrick, 
John,  James,  and  Thomas,  who  inherited  his 
business  and  great  wealth.  Thomas  Coutts,  with 
whom  we  are  more  directly  concerned,  was  born  on 
September  7,  1735.  Patrick  and  Thomas  Coutts, 
and  their  cousin,  Thomas  Stephen,  opened  a  branch 
establishment  in  London,  in  Jeffrey's  Square,  St 
Mary  Axe,  under  the  name  of  Coutts,  Stephen, 
Coutts,  &  Co. ;  John  and  James  Coutts,  remaining 
in  the  North,  acted  as  the  correspondents  of  the 
London  firm,  and  bought  and  sold  goods  on 
commission.  In  his  Memoirs  of  a  Banking 
House,  Sir  William  Forbes  says :  "  Some  years 
they  made  large  profits,  which  they  as  often  lost  in 
others,  owing  to  the  fluctuation  of  the  markets  and 
the  bankruptcy  of  many  of  those  with  whom  they 
dealt.     Indeed,  I  have  often  thought  it  not  a  little 

1  Robert  Chambers,  in  his  Journal  (No.  567,  Nov.  7,  1874). 
196 


JAMES  COUTTS 

singular  that  a  banking  house,  which  of  all  branches 
of  business  seems  peculiarly  to  require  caution,  and 
which  ought,  as  much  as  possible,  to  be  kept  clear 
of  hazard  or  speculation,  should  have  chosen  to  em- 
bark so  largely  in  the  corn  trade,  which  is  perhaps 
the  most  liable  to  sudden  fluctuation,  and  in  which 
no  human  prudence  or  insurance  can  guard  the 
adventures  from  frequent  loss." 

The  house  in  the  Strand  was  carried  on  under 
the  style  of  Campbell  &  Bruce,  under  the  sole  con- 
trol of  George  Campbell  from  1751  to  July,  1755. 
James  Coutts,  the  third  son  of  Lord  Provost  John 
Coutts,  having  become  acquainted  with  George 
Campbell  during  one  of  his  visits  to  London — for 
his  main  business  was  with  the  Edinburgh  house — 
married,  in  1754,  Campbell's  niece,  Mary  Peagrim, 
and  was  taken  into  partnership  by  the  Strand 
banker,  whereupon  he  withdrew  from  his  old  firm, 
and  Campbell  &  Coutts  came  into  existence  at 
No.  59  Strand.  On  the  death  of  his  partner,  in 
1761,  James  Coutts  took  his  brother,  Thomas, 
into  the  firm.  James  Coutts  died  in  1778,  leaving 
Thomas  in  full  control  of  the  business,  and  his 
only  daughter  inherited  his  fortune  of  £70,000. 

Thomas  Coutts,  who  ultimately  became  known 
as  "the  richest  man  in  London,"  was  a  great 
character.  He  had  received  an  excellent  train- 
ing  at  the  High  School  in  Edinburgh,  and  this, 

together  with  his  vast  experience  in  correspondence, 

197 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

"  enabled  him  to  appreciate  literary  composition, 
and  to  express  himself  with  accuracy."  He  sur- 
vived all  his  brothers,  and  became  the  first  banker  in 
London.  His  munificence,  no  less  than  his  wealth, 
admitted  him  to  the  highest  circles.  Together 
with  Sir  Walter  Scott,  his  friend,  and  kinsman, 
through  the  Stuarts  of  Allanbank,  he  received 
the  freedom  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh.  Although 
he  was  always  ready  to  lend  a  hand  to  genuine 
distress,  he  was  very  keen  in  money  matters,  and 
sternly  resented  any  attempt  at  what  he  considered 
imposition.  The  following  letter,  written  in  his 
eightieth  year,  is  characteristic  of  his  attitude 
when  replying  to  those  who  besought  unwarranted 
favours.  It  was  addressed  to  John  Pinkerton, 
the  Scottish  antiquary  and  historian,  who  had 
asked  the  banker  to  recommend  him  as  a  travel- 
ling companion,  and  to  forego  the  interest  on  a 
bond : — 

"Strand,  January  31,  1815. 

"  I  have  received  the  favour  of  your  letter,  asking 
me  to  withdraw  the  claim  for  interest  on  the  sum 
I  lent  on  the  security  of  a  house ;  but  the  footing 
upon  which  you  have  put  the  request  is  one  I  have 
uniformly,  at  all  times,  thought  to  be  such  as  I 
ought  to  reject,  and  have  rejected  accordingly.  The 
bankers  in  Scotland  and  the  county  banks  in  Eng- 
land are  on  a  different  plan  from  those  of  London. 

They  circulate  their  own  notes  and  make  pay- 
198 


HIS  STERN  CHARACTER 

ments  in  them.  We  give  out  no  notes  of  our  own, 
and  if  we  were  to  give  interest  at  even  one  per  cent, 
per  annum,  we  should  be  losers  by  our  business. 

"  We  do  not  consider  ourselves  as  being  obliged 
to  any  one  person  who  places  his  money  in  our 
hands,  however  considerable.  It  is  to  the  aggregate 
and  general  mass  of  society  that  we  owe  our  situa- 
tion, and  to  the  credit  our  prudence  and  attention 
has  obtained  for  us ;  and  people  deposit  their 
money  in  our  hands  for  their  own  advantage  and 
convenience,  not  from  favour  to  us,  nor  do  we 
desire  to  have  it  on  any  other  terms.  Probably 
you  may  not  understand  the  explanation  I  have 
spent  time  in  making,  which  I  can  very  ill  spare, 
and  it  may  therefore  answer  no  purpose,  but  it 
satisfies  myself,  and  I  wish  to  show  equal  attention 
to  all  my  employers,  whether  they  have  large  or 
small  sums  in  my  hands,  which  indeed  hardly  ever 
occupies  my  attention. 

"  My  attention  is  fully  engrossed  in  doing  business 

with  honour  and  regularity,  leaving  the  rest  to  the 

common  chance  and  course  of  things.     It  surprises 

me  that,  though  it  every  day  appears  that  there  is 

very  little  truth  published  in  the  newspapers,  yet 

people  will  still  believe  what  they  read,  especially 

abuse,  or  what  they  think  is  against  the  character 

or  prudence  of  the  person  treated  of.     I  saw  some 

paragraphs,  and  heard  of  more,  of  what  I  had  done 

for  Mr  Kean,  in  all  which  there  was  not  a  word  of 

199 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

truth ;  though  I  see  no  reason  why  I  might  not, 
without  offence  to  any  one,  have  given  Mr  Kean 
anything  I  pleased.  In  doing  any  little  matter 
in  my  power  for  an  individual,  I  must  add,  I  never 
had  any  view  to  celebrity,  with  the  present  age  or 
with  posterity. 

"  If  I  should  know  of  any  gentleman  wanting  a 
travelling  companion  abroad,  I  shall  mention  you 
to  him,  but  it  seldom  happens  that  I  am  applied  to 
in  such  matters." 

The  Mr  Kean  alluded  to  in  this  letter  is,  of 
course,  the  great  actor.  But,  as  Edmund  Kean  was 
at  the  zenith  of  his  power  and  success  in  1814-15, 
we  may  indeed  readily  believe  that  "there  was 
not  a  word  of  truth  "  in  the  rumour  that  "  Mrs 
Coutts  visited  Kean  and  made  him  a  gift  of  fifty 
pounds,"  which  was  circulated  at  the  time.  More- 
over, it  was  not  until  March  2,  1815,  that  the 
marriage  of  Thomas  Coutts  to  Harriot  Mellon  was 
announced.  Miss  Mellon  was  the  second  wife  of 
the  banker,  and  her  marriage  was  a  romantic  one. 
Before  dealing  with  it,  however,  it  is  necessary  to 
refer  to  the  first  Mrs  Coutts,  about  whom  a  good 
deal  of  mystery  has  been  made.  The  simple  truth 
is  that  she  came  of  "poor  but  honest  parents"  in 
Lancashire.  Her  name  was  Susan  Starkie,  and 
we  have  it  on  the  authority  of  the  Earl  of 
Dundonald    (1775-1860)   that   she   was   "a   most 

respectable,    modest,    handsome    young    woman." 
200 


"THE  THREE  GRACES" 

Another  writer  says  that,  even  near  the  day  of 
her  death,  although  she  was  then  an  old  woman, 
with  grown-up  grandchildren,  "she  exhibited 
traces  of  having  possessed  some  personal  ad- 
vantages in  her  youth,  her  large  black  eyes 
retaining  their  brightness,  although  rather  stern 
and  wild  in  their  expression."  She  is  interesting, 
as  far  as  this  story  is  concerned,  inasmuch  as 
Thomas  Coutts  met  her  in  the  house  in  the 
Strand,  where  she  was  in  charge  of  his  brother's 
daughter.  After  the  marriage,  Mr  and  Mrs 
Thomas  Coutts  resided  in  St  Martin's  Lane,  and 
there  "my  brother  and  myself  have  frequently 
called  to  visit "  them,  wrote  the  Earl  of  Dundonald. 
who  added  that  "her  good  sense,  amiable  disposition, 
and  exemplary  good  conduct  endeared  her  to  all 
her  husband's  family,  and  commanded  the  respect 
of  everyone  who  knew  her."  Of  this  union  there 
were  three  daughters,  who  were  known  as  "the  Three 
Graces."  The  first,  Susan,  married  the  third  Earl 
of  Guildford  ;  the  second,  Frances,  was  the  second 
wife  of  John,  first  Marquis  of  Bute ;  while  Sophia 
was  married  to  Sir  Francis  Burdett,  Bart.,  M.P., 
the  well-known  politician,  and  hero  of  reform. 
Sir  Francis  and  Lady  Burdett  had  six  children,  a 
son  and  five  daughters,  the  youngest  of  whom. 
Angela  Georgina,  born  on  April  21,  1814,  became 
the    Baroness    Burdett-Coutts,   whose    death,   on 

December  30,  1906,  has  been  so  greatly  deplored. 

201 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

This  lady  received,  on  the  death  of  the  Duchess 
of  St  Albans — Harriot  Mellon,  the  second  wife 
of  Thomas  Coutts — the  entire  estate  which  the 
banker  had,  by  his  will,  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Duchess. 

The  Duchess  of  St  Albans,  who,  as  Mrs  Coutts, 
must  have  been  a  frequent  visitor  at  No.  59  Strand, 
made  her  first  appearance  on  the  stage  as  Lydia 
Languish  in  The  Rivals,  on  January  31,  1795, 
at  Covent  Garden,  she  being  then  twenty  years 
of  age.  Her  first  husband  died  on  Februry  24, 
1822,  and  was  buried  at  Wroxton  Abbey,  Oxford- 
shire, "  his  funeral  being  attended  by  many  of  the 
nobility  and  gentry  of  the  district,  while  the  car- 
riages of  their  royal  highnesses  the  Dukes  of  York, 
Clarence,  and  Sussex  accompanied  the  procession." 
She  was  then  importuned  by  William  Aubrey 
de  Vere,  the  ninth  Duke  of  St  Albans,  to  whom 
she  was  married  on  June  16,  1827.  The  story  of 
this  courtship  has  been  told  by  Sir  Walter  Scott : 
"Mrs  Coutts,  with  the  Duke  of  St  Albans  and  Lady 
Charlotte  Beauclerk,  called  to  take  leave  of  us. 
When  at  Abbotsford  his  suit  throve  but  coldly. 
She  made  me,  I  believe,  a  confidant  in  sincerity. 
She  had  refused  him  twice,  and  decidedly :  he  was 
merely  on  the  footing  of  friendship.  I  urged  it 
was  akin  to  love.  She  allowed  she  might  marry 
the   Duke,  only  she  had  at  present  not  the  least 

intention  that  way.  It  is  the  fashion  to  attend  Mrs 
202 


THE  DUCHESS  OF  ST  ALBANS 

Coutts'  parties,  and  to  abuse  her.     I  have  always 
found  her  a  kind,  friendly  woman,  without  either 
affectation  or  insolence  in  the  display  of  her  wealth  ; 
most  willing  to  do  good  if  the  means  be  shown  her. 
She  can  be  very  entertaining  too,  and  she  speaks 
without  scruple  of  her  stage  life.     So  much  wealth 
can  hardly  be  enjoyed   without   ostentation."     In 
Lockhart's  Life  of  Scott  there  is  a  long  account  of 
a  visit  paid  to   Sir   Walter  by  Mrs   Coutts,  who 
arrived  at  Abbotsford  with  a  train  of  three  carriages 
each  drawn  by  four  horses.     Her  retinue  consisted 
of  her  future  lord,  the  Duke  of  St  Albans,  one  of 
his  grace's   sisters,  a  sort   of  lady-in-waiting,  two 
physicians,  and  besides  other  menials  of  every  grade, 
two   bed-chamber  women    for   Mrs   Coutts'   own 
person — she  requiring  to  have  this  article  also  in 
duplicate,  because   in   her  widowed  condition  she 
was   fearful   of  ghosts.      There   were   already   as- 
sembled at  Abbotsford  several  ladies  of  high  rank, 
who,  witnessing  this  ostentation  on  the  part  of  an 
actress  who,  when  a  girl,  had  been  chased  from  her 
home  by  a  vulgar  virago  of  a  mother,  took  it  into 
their  heads  to  snub  her.     "  The  good-natured  Sir 
Walter,  pained  at  the  conduct  of  his  noble  guests, 
took  the  youngest  and  prettiest  of  them  aside,  and 
lectured  her  on  her  manners.     The  beautiful  peeress 
thanked   him   for   treating   her   as   his   daughter; 
and  one  by  one  the  other  ladies  being  made  to  run 

the  gauntlet  of  Sir  Walter's  rebukes,  Mrs  Coutts 

203 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

was  speedily  set  at  ease.  The  narrative  is  curious 
as  a  typical  illustration  of  the  sentiments  with 
which  the  society  to  which  Harriet  Mellon  claimed 
to  belong  regarded  her."1 

The  anecdotes  which  have  been  related  of 
Thomas  Coutts  are  innumerable  and — unreliable. 
One  of  the  most  extraordinary  of  them  is  the 
following : — "  In  the  early  part  of  his  career,  Mr 
Coutts,  anxious  to  secure  the  cordial  co-operation  of 
the  heads  of  the  various  banking-houses  in  London, 
was  in  the  habit  of  frequently  inviting  them  to 
dinner.  On  one  of  these  occasions  the  manager 
of  a  City  bank,  in  retailing  the  news  of  the  day, 
accidentally  remarked  that  a  certain  nobleman  had 
applied  to  his  firm  for  the  loan  of  £30,000,  and 
had  been  refused.  Mr  Coutts  listened,  and  said 
nothing ;  but  the  moment  his  guests  had  retired, 
about  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  he  started  off  to 
the  house  of  the  nobleman  mentioned,  and  re- 
quested the  honour  of  an  interview  with  his  lord- 
ship next  day.  On  the  following  morning,  the 
nobleman  called  at  the  bank.  Mr  Coutts  received 
him  with  the  greatest  politeness,  and  taking 
thirty  one-thousand  pound  notes  from  a  drawer, 
presented  them  to  his  lordship.  The  latter,  very 
agreeably  surprised,  exclaimed,  'But  what  security 
am  I  to  give  you ? '  'I  shall  be  satisfied  with 
your  lordship's  note  of  hand,'  was  the  reply.     The 

1  Representative  Actors,  W.  Clark  Russell,  p.  322. 
204 


EXTRAORDINARY  ANECDOTES 

1 1.O.U.'  was  instantly  given,  with  the  remark,  '  I 

find  I  shall  only  require  for  the  present  £10,000 ; 

I   therefore  return  you   £20,000,  with  which  you 

will  be  pleased  to  open  an  account  in  my  name.' 

This  generous,  or,  as  it  may  more  truly  be  called, 

exceedingly  well-calculated,  act  of  Mr  Coutts  was 

not  lost  upon  the  nobleman,  who,  in  addition  to 

paying  in  within  a  few  months  £200,000  to  his 

account,   the   produce   of  the    sale   of  an   estate, 

recommended  several  high  personages  to  patronise 

the  bank  in  the  Strand.     Among  new  clients  who 

opened  accounts  there  was  King  George  III." 

This  absurd  story  had  its  origin  in  the  financial 

adventures  of  one  Alexander  Trotter,  Paymaster 

of  the  Navy,  who,  despite  the  facts  that  his  salary 

was  a  mere  five  hundred  a  year  and  that  he  had 

no  other  means,  passed  some  fifteen  million  pounds 

through  Coutts'  Bank  and  speculated   hugely  on 

the  Stock  Exchange,  his  transactions  amounting 

in  one  day  to  £300,000.      In  giving  evidence  in 

the  trial  of  Lord  Melville,  the  treasurer  of  the 

Navy,  in  1806,  he  said :  "  I  certainly  made  use  of 

that  part  which  was  not  likely  to  be  claimed  for 

my  own  benefit,  generally  by  lending  it  at  interest, 

and  at  times  by  investing  it  in  Exchequer  or  Navy 

Bills,  or  other  Government  securities.     The  whole 

profit  and  emolument  derived  from  that  mode  of 

laying  out   the  money   were    entirely  my  own." 

He   gave   as   his    reason    for   passing   the   money 

205 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

through  his  private  account,  instead  of  through 
the  Bank  of  England,  that,  after  the  removal  of 
the  Navy  Office  from  Broad  Street  to  Somerset 
Place,  it  was  "  safer  and  more  convenient  to  give 
orders  on  a  bank  in  the  Strand."  He  also  affirmed 
that  he  never  drew  for  a  million  of  money  but 
once  in  his  life,  "  And  that  money  went  into  the 
hands  of  Coutts,  for  I  drew  a  draft,  as  usual,  upon 
the  Bank  of  England,  but  instead  of  giving  the 
draft  to  Coutts,  I  gave  it  to  a  clerk,  who  carried 
it  to  the  bank,  and,  the  notes  being  divided  into 
a  great  number  of  small  notes,  he  took  them 
to  Coutts" — a  very  singular  proceeding.  Lord 
Melville  stated  that,  to  the  best  of  his  recollection, 
"  He  never  authorised  the  application  of  any  of  the 
Navy  money  for  his  own  benefit  or  advantage, 
but  that,  owing  to  the  way  in  which  the  pay- 
master had  blended  his  own  money  and  the  public 
money,  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain  with  precision 
whether  the  advances  he  had  made  to  the  treasurer 
were  from  one  source  or  the  other."  An  import- 
ant point  in  the  trial  turned  upon  the  disposal  of 
a  certain  sum  of  £30,000,  and  it  could  not  be 
determined  as  to  whether  the  money  came  from 
the  Navy,  or,  as  a  loan,  from  Messrs  Coutts. 
Hence  arose  the  apocryphal  story  of  the  staid 
banker,  to  whom  caution  was  second  nature, 
wishing  to  lend   this  large   amount   on   the   frail 

security  of  an  I.O.U. 
206 


THE  HOUSE  OF  COUTTS 

As  for  the  stories  about  people  who  are  supposed 
to  have  given  Thomas  Coutts  a  guinea,  as  a  con- 
sequence of  his  shabby  appearance,  they  are  too 
numerous  for  repetition.  The  most  circumstantial 
is  the  following : — "  Mr  Coutts  used  to  make 
periodical  visits  to  a  town  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
country  seat  of  one  of  his  married  daughters.  On 
one  of  these  occasions  he  had  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  a  benevolent  old  gentleman,  who,  noticing 
the  neat  but  somewhat  worn  apparel  of  the  eminent 
banker,  imagined  that  he  had  most  probably  seen 
better  days,  but  that  his  actual  financial  condition 
was  not  very  flourishing.  The  last  time  they  met 
was  Christmas  time ;  and  the  benevolent  old 
gentleman,  no  doubt  warmed  up  with  the  prospects 
of  the  festivities  of  the  season,  dropped  a  guinea 
into  the  hand  of  Mr  Coutts  as  he  passed  quickly 
by  him,  bidding  him  get  a  good  dinner.  Having 
discovered  the  name  of  his  benefactor,  Mr  Coutts 
soon  after  invited  him  to  his  house,  where  he  made 
himself  known  to  him,  and  related  the  anecdote 
to  his  guests,  letting  them  know  how  he  had  the 
guinea  given  to  him,  and  saying  he  intended 
keeping  it."  This  story  of  the  guinea  gathered 
strength  with  the  years,  one  of  the  versions  being 
that  when  the  banker  was  in  Brighton,  visiting 
the  Prince  Regent,  to  whom  he  occasionally  acted 
as  financial  adviser,  he  was  sitting  on  the  front 

when  a  lady,  observing  "his  dejected  appearance 

207 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

and  shabby  apparel,  gave  him  a  crown  with  which 
to  get  some  breakfast,  and  promised  to  get  her 
friends  to  help  to  buy  him  a  dinner.  The  crown, 
of  course,  proved  to  be  a  crown  token  piece  issued 
from  the  Coutts'  Bank  at  the  sign  of  '  The  Three 
Crowns  in  the  Strand,'  but  when  the  lady  returned 
with  her  friends,  and  was  just  about  to  give  the 
poor  man  his  dinner  money,  the  Prince  Regent 
ran  out  from  the  pavilion,  and  slapping  him  on 
the  back,  called  out,  'Tom  Coutts,  my  boy,  we 
have  fined  you  a  bottle  for  leaving  your  glass  ! ' " 

According  to  Mrs  Cornwall  Baron  -  Wilson, 
Thomas  Coutts  was  "  a  tall,  thin,  spare  figure,  and 
his  clothes,  always  ill-fitting,  bore  that  appearance 
of  being  rubbed  at  the  seams,  which  reveals  the 
•  business  coat '  of  an  office.  He  was  often  mis- 
taken for  an  indigent  person,  and  used  to  enjoy 
the  mistake  of  all  things."  There  is  probably  some 
little  exaggeration  in  this,  but  the  banker,  most 
certainly,  was  not  extravagant  in  his  dress.  Even 
if  the  following  anecdote  is  not  strictly  accurate, 
there  is,  no  doubt,  some  truth  in  it : — "  Mr  Coutts, 
from  his  too  strict  attention  to  the  bank,  felt 
his  appetite  diminished  ;  ana*,  in  order  to  afford 
him  a  little  exercise,  his  physician  ordered  him 
to  walk  daily  after  the  bank  closed  to  a  chemist's, 
who  resided  at  some  distance  from  the  Strand, 
to   have   some   tonic   preparation    made   up.      So 

quiet  and  unassuming  was  he  in  his  manners,  that 
208 


" POOR "  MR  COUTTS 

he  always  made  way  for  everyone  who  came  while 
he  was  at  the  shop,  so  that  they  might  be  served 
before  him ;  and,  with  his  fair,  delicate  countenance, 
spare  frame,  and  very  simple  dress,  no  strangers 
guessed  that  they  were  pushing  aside  the  opulent 
Mr  Coutts.  A  kind-hearted,  liberal  man,  a  mer- 
chant— who  used  to  quit  his  counting-house  about 
the  same  time  that  Mr  Coutts  left  the  bank,  and 
who  had  chanced  to  be  in  the  chemist's  shop  two 
or  three  times  at  the  hour  when  the  latter  came 
there — had  remarked  him,  and  from  his  retiring, 
gentle  appearance  and  actions,  concluded  he  was 
a  reduced  gentleman  whose  mind  was  superior  to 
his  means.  Accordingly,  this  charitable  merchant 
resolved  to  administer  to  the  necessities  of  the 
shrinking,  modest  individual ;  and,  one  day,  having 
sealed  up  a  sum  of  money  for  the  purpose,  he 
went  to  the  chemist's  shop,  where  he  remained  a 
length  of  time,  waiting  anxiously  for  the  appear- 
ance of  the  latter,  who,  however,  on  that  day  did 
not  come  for  the  tonic,  being  probably  too  much 
engaged  in  distributing  thousands.  The  stranger, 
being  at  length  tired  of  waiting,  and  feeling 
ashamed  of  occupying  a  place  in  the  shop  so  long, 
told  the  chemist  how  the  absence  of  the  pale, 
indigent,  elderly  gentleman  had  prevented  his  in- 
tended donation.  The  chemist,  in  amazement, 
said :  '  And  you  really  meant  to  offer  pecuniary 

aid  to  that  person,  sir  ?     Have  you  no  idea  who 

14  209 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

he  is?'  'None,'  said  the  other,  'but  I  conclude 
he  is  some  gentlemanly  man  in  distressed,  or,  at 
least,  reduced  circumstances.'  '  You  shall  judge, 
sir,  as  to  his  circumstances  —  that  unassuming, 
quiet  individual  is  Thomas  Coutts!'"1 

Part  of  the  premises  of  the  bank  has  been 
occupied  since  the  removal  of  Messrs  Coutts — 
in  1904,  to  No.  440  Strand — by  the  London 
County  Council.  The  number  is  59,  and  the 
upper  part  is  much  the  same  as  it  was  in 
1768,  when  it  was  erected  by  the  brothers  Adam. 
The  house  then  contained  "some  good  marble 
chimney-pieces  of  the  Cipriani  and  Bacon  school. 
The  dining-room  is  hung  with  Chinese  subjects 
on  paper,  sent  to  Coutts  by  Lord  Macartney, 
while  on  his  embassy  to  China  in  1792-95.  In 
another  room  is  a  collection  of  portraits  of  the 
early  friends  of  the  wealthy  banker,  including 
the  portrait  of  Dr  Armstrong,  the  poet,  by  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds.  The  strong  rooms,  or  vaults  of 
the  house — '  which  alone  cost  £10,000 ' — will  repay 
an  endeavour  to  obtain  a  sight  of  them.  Here,  in 
a  succession  of  cloister-like  avenues,  are  stored  in 
boxes  of  all  shapes,  sizes,  and  colours,  patents,  title- 
deeds,  plate,  etc.,  of  many  of  the  nobility  and 
gentry  of  Great  Britain."2  The  Adams  mantel- 
pieces and  some  of  their  doors  were  transferred  to 

1  Memoirs  of  Miss  Mellon,  vol.  i.,  p.  309. 

2  Cunningham's  Handbook  of  London,  1850,  p.  476. 
210 


THE  ADELPHI  CHAPEL 

No.  440  Strand  ;  and  here  the  board-room — an 
apartment  of  drawing-room  appearance  which  is  in 
strange  contrast  to  the  busy  thoroughfare  below — 
is  hung  with  the  Chinese  wall-paper  which,  despite 
its  hundred  and  more  years  of  age,  looks  perfectly 
new.  During  the  building  of  the  Adelphi,  Coutts, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  interruption  of  the  view 
from  the  back  part  of  the  premises,  made  a  stipu- 
lation with  the  Adams  that  Robert  Street  should 
be  so  planned  as  to  form  a  kind  of  framework  for 
the  fine  view  of  the  hills  beyond  the  Thames.  The 
land  beyond  John  and  William  streets  was  then 
occupied  by  the  strong-rooms,  "  connected  under- 
ground with  the  office,  and  built  only  to  the  level 
of  the  Strand.  When  it  became  necessary  to 
enlarge  "  the  premises,  Coutts  "  procured  a  special 
Act  of  Parliament  for  throwing  an  arch  over 
William  Street.  It  was  recognised  as  a  good  omen 
that,  on  the  day  of  opening  these  improvements, 
Nelson  sent  to  Mr  Coutts  for  security  the  diamond 
aigrette  which  had  been  presented  to  him  by  the 
Sultan."1  In  James  Street — now  covered,  with 
William  Street,  in  the  general  name  of  Durham 
House  Street,  stretching  from  the  Strand  to  John 
Street — was  the  Adelphi  Chapel,  built  by  a  con- 
gregation of  Particular  Baptists  about  1777,  and 
subsequently  sold  by  them  to  the  Calvinistic 
Baptists.     Later  on,  an  Independent  congregation 

1  London  Past  and  Present,  vol.  i.,  p.  6. 

211 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

occupied  the  building  until  it  became  absorbed  in 
the  banking-house,  and,  until  the  removal  of 
Messrs  Coutts,  it  was  called  "the  chapel." 

Many  names,  famous  in  all  ranks  of  life,  are 
registered  in  the  accounts  of  the  customers  of 
Messrs  Coutts.  Taking  them  at  random,  they 
include  Pitt,  Lord  Londonderry,  Sir  Thomas 
Lawrence,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  Nelson,  Lord  Bute,  Dr  Johnson, 
C.  J.  Fox,  Lord  Grenville,  Lord  Macartney, 
Pope,  Benjamin  West,  Lord  George  Gordon,  Dr 
Armstrong,  Mrs  FitzHerbert,  Charles  Dickens, 
Livingstone,  Alfred  Tennyson,  and  Henry  Irving. 
Kings  George  III.  and  IV.,  and  William  IV., 
banked  here,  as  did  Queen  Victoria.  Messrs 
Coutts  are  also  the  bankers  of  King  Edward  VII. 
— who  also  kept  an  account  at  No.  59  when  he  was 
Prince  of  Wales— of  Queen  Alexandra,  of  the 
Queen  of  Spain,  and  of  the  King  of  Portugal. 

The  partners  in  the  bank  are,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Hon.  W.  F.  D.  Smith,  of  Scottish  descent. 
On  February  23,  1906,  the  capital  was  registered  as 
£600,000,  distributed  as  follows  :— 

William  Rolle  Malcolm,  Lord  A.  Campbell, 
G.  J.  Marjoribanks,  and  the  Earl  of 
Harrowby,  as  trustees  for  the  persons 
interested  under  the  will  of  Harriot, 
Duchess  of  St  Albans      .  .  .  £223,600 

Ronald    Malcolm    and    G.    J.    Marjoribanks 

(jointly)  .....        82,900 
212 


THE  BANKER'S  WILL 


Archibald    Dudley    Ryder,    Edward    Dudley 

Ryder,  and  the  Earl  of  Harrowby 

82,700 

William  Rolle  Malcolm 

53,000 

The  Earl  of  Harrowby 

36,500 

George  John  Marjoribanks 

40,000 

Lord  Archibald  Campbell 

31,700 

The  Baroness  Burdett-Coutts 

21,100 

The  Hon.  F.  W.  D.  Smith      . 

10,000 

Ronald  Malcolm 

10,000 

Archibald  Dudley  Ryder 

4,250 

The  Hon.  Edward  Dudley  Ryder 

4,250 

£600,000 

Thomas  Coutts  left  all  his  property  to  his  wife. 
His  personal  estate  was  valued  at  just  under 
£600,000,  but  "as  his  own  personal  stocks  and 
shares  and  his  interest  in  the  stocks  and  shares  held 
by  the  bank  were  mingled,  and  it  would  be  difficult 
for  others  than  his  partners  to  distinguish  which 
was  the  bank's  property  and  which  was  his  own,  he 
named  as  special  trustees  of  such  stocks  and  shares 
his  partners,  Sir  Edmund  Antrobus,  Mr  Coutts 
Trotter,  Mr  Edward  Marjoribanks,  and  Mr  Edmund 
Antrobus,  and  he  appointed  them  executors,  to- 
gether with  William  Adam  the  younger,  of 
Lincoln's  Inn,  Andrew  Dickie,  of  the  Strand,  and 
Thomas  Atkinson  and  John  Parkinson,  both  of 
Lincoln's  Inn  Fields."  Harriot,  Duchess  of  St 
Albans,  widow  of  Thomas  Coutts,  made  her  will 
on  March  14,  1837,  six  months  before  her  decease, 
her  executors  being  Sir  Coutts  Trotter,  Edward 

Marjoribanks,  Sir  Edmund  Antrobus,  and  William 

213 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Matthew  Coulthurst,  all  of  the  Strand,  with 
William  George  Adam,  Accountant-General  of 
the  High  Court  of  Chancery,  and  John  Parkinson, 
of  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields.  She  bequeathed  to  her 
husband  the  use  and  enjoyment  during  his  life  of 
Holly  Lodge,  Highgate  (which  Mr  Coutts  had 
bought  for  her  at  a  cost  of  £25,000),  the  use  and 
enjoyment  of  rooms  in  the  Strand,  a  legacy  of 
£10,000  for  furniture,  a  selection  of  plate,  not  ex- 
ceeding in  value  £2000,  and  an  annuity  of  £10,000  ; 
but  the  annuity  and  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  Holly 
Lodge  were  to  cease  if  he  should  permit  his  uncle, 
Lord  Amilius  Beauclerk,  or  his  brothers,  Frederick 
or  Charles  Beauclerk,  to  reside  in  these  quarters 
for  one  week  or  more  in  any  one  year.  She  left 
her  jewellery  to  Angela  Georgina  Burdett — sub- 
sequently the  Baroness  Burdett- Coutts — and  she 
also  gave,  devised,  and  bequeathed  all  her  real 
and  personal  estate,  including  her  shares  and 
interest  of  and  in  the  banking-house  and  business 
in  the  Strand,  in  trust  to  pay  the  income  thereof 
to  the  said  Angela  Georgina  Burdett  until  she 
should  marry  or  die,  which  should  first  happen, 
and  after  such  marriage  to  pay  the  same  to  her 
for  her  own  sole  and  separate  use  and  benefit 
during  the  then  residue  of  her  life. 

At  the  southern  end  of  Robert  Street,  through 
which  Thomas  Coutts  looked  at  the  Surrey  hills, 

there  was,  in  modern  times,  the  Caledonian  Hotel, 
214 


THE  SAVAGE  CLUB 

which,  with  its  hideous  plaster  front,  was  a  blot 
upon  the  surrounding  architecture.  This,  in  the 
late  seventies  of  the  last  century,  was  the  meeting- 
place  of  the  Savage  Club.  The  "  Savages "  then 
migrated  to  Lancaster  House,  Savoy,  but  in  1889 
they  returned  to  the  Adelphi,  having  taken  the 
lease  of  their  present  premises,  Nos.  6  and  7  Adelphi 
Terrace.  Excepting  that  the  beautiful  ceiling  of 
their  principal  room  is  covered  with  whitewash, 
the  rooms  still  contain  much  of  the  Adams  imprint. 
Next  door,  however,  Garrick's  house  is  little 
changed ;  the  ceiling  in  his  drawing-room  was 
painted  by  Antonio  Zucchi,  A.R.A.,  Angelica 
Kauffmann's  second  husband,  and  it  is  in  a 
splendid  state  of  preservation,  as  is  the  magnifi- 
cent marble  chimney-piece,  which  is  said  to  have 
cost  £300  —  the  rooms  in  which  Mr  and  Mrs 
Garrick  died  are  now  in  the  occupation  of  the 
Institution  of  Naval  Architects.  King  Edward 
VII.  was  an  honorary  life  member  of  the  Savage 
Club  from  1882  until  his  Accession  in  1901. 
Honorary  life  members  of  the  present  year  of 
grace  include  the  Prince  of  Wales,  Earl  Roberts, 
Lord  Kitchener,  Mr  Whitelaw  Reid,  and  Mr 
Samuel  L.  Clemens  (Mark  Twain).  The  treasurer 
and  secretary — both  of  which  posts  are  honorary — 
are  Sir  James  D.  Linton,  R.I.,  and  Mr  Edwin  E. 
Peacock  respectively.     The  club  is  limited  to  five 

hundred  town  and  one  hundred  country  members. 

215 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

One  of  the  most  notable  residents  of  the 
Adelphi  in  modern  times  was  Mr  Thomas  Hardy, 
who,  happily  still  with  us,  lived  at  No.  8  Adelphi 
Terrace  in  the  years  1863-67.  During  that  time, 
"  I  sat  there  drawing,"  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  who 
has  kindly  given  me  the  privilege  of  reproduc- 
ing his  words,  "inside  the  eastern-most  window 
of  the  front  room  on  the  first  floor  above  the 
ground  floor,  occasionally  varying  the  experience 
by  idling  on  the  balcony.  I  saw  from  there  the 
Embankment  and  Charing  Cross  Bridge  built, 
and,  of  course,  used  to  think  of  Garrick  and 
Johnson."  Mr  Hardy,  who  was  born  in  1840, 
was  then  practising  architecture  under  Sir  A. 
Blomfield,  A.R.A.  The  room  in  which  the  future 
author  of  Far  from  the  Madding  Crowd  and  Tess 
of  the  D'Urbervilles  worked  "contained  at  that 
date  a  fine  Adams  mantel-piece  in  white  marble, 
on  which  we  used  to  sketch  caricatures  in  pencil." 

The   coming   of  the   Savage   Club   to   Adelphi 

Terrace   occasioned   much   sorrow  to   one  of  the 

kindest  -  hearted    men   who    ever    lived  —  E.    L. 

Blanchard,  who  had  rooms  in  No.  6  from  April 

1876    until    March    1889,   a   few    months    before 

his  death.     Edward  Litt  Laman  Blanchard — son 

of  William  Blanchard  (1769-1835),  an  actor  who 

was  celebrated  for  his  Bob  Acres,  Sir  Hugh  Evans, 

Fluellen,  Menenius,  and   Polonius — was   born   on 

December   11,    1820.     He   was   a   prolific   writer, 
216 


E.  L.  BLANCHARD 

and  for  many  years  was  the  dramatic  critic  and 
theatrical    chronicler    of    The    Daily    Telegraph. 
He  wrote  the  Drury  Lane  pantomime  for  thirty- 
seven  years — a  marvellous  record.     On  December 
11,  1888,  he  writes  in  his  Diary:  "Am  reminded, 
to  my  amazement,  that  I  am  sixty-eight  this  day. 
Thank  God  for  the  many  unexpected  blessings  I 
have  had."     On  the  following  day  he  hears  "with 
inexpressible  regret  that  the  Savage  Club  signed 
yesterday   an   agreement  to  take  these   premises, 
and  the  adjoining  house,  No.  7."     On  the  15th  he 
writes :  "  Receive  formal  notice  to  give  up  posses- 
sion  of    Adelphi    Terrace    on    Lady   Day   next, 
which  troubles  me  greatly."     His  death  occurred 
on  September  4,  1889.     Among  the  many  shadows 
of  the  past  which  rise   up  before  me  as  I  bring 
to   a   close    this   history   of    the    Adelphi   of  the 
Brothers  Adam,  there  is  none  for  which  I  have  a 
greater  reverence,  or  greater  affection,  than  that 
of  gentle,  sweet-natured  E.  L.  Blanchard. 


217 


CHAPTER  X 

York  House — Francis  Bacon — The  Great  Seal  taken  from  Him 
— Lord  Keeper  Egerton — The  Duke  of  Buckingham,  King 
James'  "  Steenie  " — Magnificence  of  his  Entertainments — 
Contemporary  Descriptions — Bishop  Goodman's  Praise — 
The  Second  Duke  —  Dry  den's  Revenge  —  The  "Super- 
stitious Pictures  "  of  York  House — Buckingham's  Marriage 
— Spanish,  Russian,  and  French  Ambassadors  Here — Visits 
by  Pepys  and  Evelyn — Duke  of  Buckingham  sells  York 
House — His  Curious  Condition  of  Sale — The  Duke's  Litany. 

Leaving  the  Adelphi  proper,  but  still  within  its 

precincts,  we  come  to  the  history  of  York  House, 

the  site  of  which  is   indicated  by  Villiers   Street, 

Buckingham  Street,  and  York  Buildings,  Adelphi. 

"Next  beyond  this  Durham  House,"  wrote  John 

Stow,  in  1598,  "is  another  great  house,  sometime 

belonging   to   the    Bishop   of   Norwich,   and   was 

his  London  lodging,  which  now  pertaineth  to  the 

Archbishop   of  York   by   this   occasion.      In   the 

year   1529,   when    Cardinal    Wolsey,   Archbishop 

of  York,  was  indicted  in  the  Premunire,  whereby 

King  Henry  VIII.  was  entitled  to  his  goods  and 

possessions,  he  also  seized  into  his  hands  the  said 
218 


YORK  HOUSE 

archbishop's  house,  commonly  called  York  Place, 
and  changed  the  name  thereof  into  Whitehall ; 
whereby  the  archbishops  of  York,  being  dis- 
possessed, and  having  no  house  of  repair  about 
London,  Queen  Mary  gave  unto  Nicholas  Heath, 
then  Archbishop  of  York,  and  to  his  successors, 
Suffolk  House  in  South wark,  lately  built  by 
Charles  Brandon,  Duke  of  Suffolk,  as  I  have 
showed.  This  house  the  said  archbishop  sold, 
and  bought  the  aforesaid  house  of  old  time  be- 
longing to  the  bishops  of  Norwich,  which  of  this 
last  purchase  is  now  called  York  House.  The 
lord  chancellors  or  lord  keepers  of  the  Great  Seal 
of  England  have  been  lately  there  lodged."  Our 
other  great  chronicler,  Strype,  records  that  Arch- 
bishop Heath,  on  August  6,  1557,  "obtained  a 
license  for  the  alienation  of  this  capital  messuage 
of  Suffolk  Place ;  and  to  apply  the  price  thereof 
for  the  buying  of  other  houses  called  also  Suffolk 
Place,  lying  near  Charing  Cross ;  as  appears  from 
a  register  belonging  to  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of 
York."  Archbishop  Heath  did  not  occupy  York 
House  for  long,  and  his  successors  appear  to  have 
let  it  to  the  Lord  Keepers  of  the  Great  Seal. 

Lord  Chancellor  Bacon,  the  son  of  Nicholas 
Bacon,  Lord  Keeper,  was  born  here  in  1561,  and 
here  his  father  died  in  1579.  One  of  the  most 
interesting    of    literary    associations    is    that    of 

Francis   Bacon   with   York  House.     He  built  an 

219 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

aviary  here  at  a  cost  of  £300,  and  here  Aubrey 
laid  the  scene  of  his  jesting  with  the  fishermen, 
although  Bacon  himself  placed  it  at  Chelsea: 
"  His  Lordship  (Bacon)  being  in  Yorke  House 
garden  looking  on  Fishers,  as  they  were  throwing 
their  nett,  asked  them  what  they  would  take  for 
their  draught ;  they  answered  so  much :  his  Lop 
would  offer  them  no  more  but  so  much.  They  drew 
up  their  nett,  and  it  were  only  2  or  3  little  fishes  ; 
his  Lop  then  told  them,  it  had  been  better  for 
them  to  have  taken  his  offer.  They  replied,  they 
hoped  to  have  had  a  better  draught ;  but  said  his 
Lop,  '  Hope  is  a  good  breakfast,  but  an  ill 
supper.'"1  When  the  Duke  of  Lennox  wished 
to  buy,  or  exchange,  York  House,2  Bacon  replied : 
"  For  this  you  will  pardon  me :  York  House  is 
the  house  where  my  father  died,  and  where  I  first 

1  Aubrey's  Lives,  vol.  ii.,  p.  224. 

2  A  brilliant  entertainment  given  at  York  House  in  1620 
was  attended  by  Ben  Jonson,  who  said  that  all  things  seemed 
to  smile  about  the  old  house — "  the  fire,  the  wine,  the  men  "  ; 
he  speaks  of  Bacon  as  : — 

"  England's  high  Chancellor,  the  destin'd  heir, 
In  his  soft  cradle,  to  his  father's  chair, 
Whose  even  thread  the  Fates  spin  round  and  full, 
Out  of  their  choicest  and  whitest  wool." 

A  few  months  later,  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords 
waited  upon  the  Chancellor  at  York  House  in  order  to  enquire 
personally  whether  the  confession  of  guilt  which  he  had  sent 
them  was  really  his.  "My  Lords,"  he  replied,  "it  is  my  act, 
my  hand,  my  heart ;  I  beseech  your  Lordships  to  be  merciful 
to  a  broken  reed." 
220 


"[STEENIE  " 

breathed,  and  there  will  I  yield  my  last  breath,  if 

so  please  God  and  the  King."     In  1621,  however, 

Bacon,   charged   before   the   House  of  Commons 

with   bribery,   confessed    that    he    was    guilty   of 

"  corruption  and  neglect,"  and,  on  May  21  of  that 

year,   the   Great   Seal   was    "  fetched    from "    the 

keeping  of  Lord  Bacon  of  York  House.     A  little 

later,  Bacon  had  "leave  to  repair  to  York  House 

for   a   fortnight,   but   remained   so   long   that    he 

had  warning  to  repair  to  Gorhambury."     Another 

keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  was  Sir  John  Puckering, 

who  died  at  York  House  in  1596.     Lord  Chancellor 

Egerton  also  died  here,  in  1617.     The  commission 

of  enquiry  into  the  death,  in  1613,  of  Sir  Thomas 

Overbury,  was  held  at  York  House,  and  resulted 

in   the   hanging   of  four   of  the   agents  of  Lady 

Essex.      The    Orders    of   October    17,    1615,   to 

Somerset  "  to  keep  his  chamber  near  the  Cockpit," 

and  to  his  countess  "  to  keep  her  chamber  at  the 

Blackfriars,  or  at   Lord  Knollys's  house  near  the 

Tilt   yard,"   are   dated   from   York    House.      An 

attempt   made,   in    1588,  to   obtain   the   property 

from  Queen  Elizabeth,  has  been  attributed  to  the 

Earl  of  Essex,  to  whom  the  custody  of  the  house 

was    subsequently    committed.      Edwin    Sandys, 

when  Archbishop  of  York,  wrote  a  "  secret  letter  " 

to   Lord   Burghley  entreating  his  lordship  to  use 

his  influence  with  the  Queen  for  the  refusal  of  the 

request  of  the  Earl  of  Essex,  who,  curiously  enough, 

221 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

was  under  surveillance  at  York  House  during  the 

time— October  6,  1599,  to  March  20,  1600— that 

he  was  in  the  charge  of  Lord  Keeper  Egerton. 

In    some    manner,    which    is    not    very    clear, 

York   House  passed   to   George,    the   first   Duke 

of    Buckingham    of    the     Villiers    family.       He 

"  borrowed  "  it  from  Archbishop  Mathew  till  such 

time  as  he  could  persuade  him  "  to  accept  as  good 

a   seat   as  that   was   in   lieu   of  the  same,  which 

could  not  be  so  soon  compassed,  as  the  Duke  of 

Buckingham  had  occasion  to  make  use  of  rooms 

for  the   entertainment   of  foreign   princes."      On 

"  Whitson-Eve,"  1624,  as  recorded  in  Archbishop 

Laud's  Diary,  "the  Bill  passed  in  Parliament  for 

the   King  to   have   York  House  in  exchange  for 

other   lands.      This   was   for  the   Lord   Duke   of 

Buckingham."     The  old  structure  was   destroyed, 

and  a  large,  but  temporary,  building,  erected   in 

its   place,   great    mirrors    covering    many  of   the 

walls.     Nothing  remains  of  this   house;   but  the 

water-gate,   at   the   foot   of    Buckingham    Street, 

still  marks  the  stately  approach  to  the  York  House 

of  Buckingham's   time.      "  I   am   confident  there 

are  some  that  live,"  wrote  Sir  Balthazar  Gerbier, 

who  was  the  keeper  of  York  House  and  collector 

of  pictures  for  Buckingham,  "who  will  not  deny 

that  they  have  heard  the  King  of  blessed  memory, 

graciously  pleased  to  avouch  he  had  seen  in  Anno 

1628,  close  to  the  Gate  of  York  House,  in  a  roome 
222 


MAGNIFICENT  ENTERTAINMENTS 

not  above  35  feet  square,  as  much  as  could  be 
represented  as  Sceans,  in  the  great  Banqueting 
Room  of  Whitehall."  The  "sceans"  were  the 
pictures  with  which  York  House  was  filled  by 
Buckingham,  who  paid  Rubens  a  hundred  thou- 
sand florins  for  an  art  collection  " '  more  like  that 
of  a  prince  than  a  private  gentleman '  with  which 
the  great  painter  of  Antwerp  had  enriched  his 
own  dwelling.  Among  the  pictures  were  no  fewer 
than  19  by  Titian ;  21  by  Bassano ;  13  by  Paul 
Veronese ;  17  by  Tintoretto ;  3  by  Raphael ;  3  by 
Leonardo  da  Vinci;  and  13  by  Rubens  himself."1 
Buckingham  did  not  live  at  York  House :  he  only 
used  it  on  state  occasions.  He  was  assassinated, 
at  Portsmouth,  by  John  Felton,  on  August  23, 
1628. 

The  entertainments  given  by  Buckingham  at 
York  House  were  unrivalled  in  their  magnificence. 
A  contemporary  account  of  one  of  them  is  fur- 
nished by  the  great  courtier,  Francois  de  Bas- 
sompiere  (1579-1646),  Marshal  of  France,  in  his 
Embassy  to  England,1  an  account  of  his  sojourn 
here  in  1626.  "The  King,"  he  says,  "supped  at 
one  table  with  the  Queen  and  me,  which  was  served 
by  a  complete  ballet  at  each  course  with  sundry 
representations — changes  of  scenery,  tables,  and 
music  :  the  Duke  waited  on  the  King  at  table,  the 

1  London  Past  and  Present,  vol.  iii.,  p.  538. 

2  P.  95. 

223 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Earl  of  Carlisle  on  the  Queen,  and  the  Earl  of 
Holland  on  me.  After  supper  the  King  and  we 
were  led  into  another  room,  where  the  assembly 
was,  and  one  entered  it  by  a  kind  of  turnstile,  as  in 
convents,  without  any  confusion,  where  there  was 
a  magnificent  ballet,  in  which  the  Duke  danced, 
and  afterwards  we  set  to,  and  danced  country 
dances  till  four  in  the  morning;  thence  we  were 
shown  into  vaulted  apartments,  where  there  were 
five  different  collations."  DTsraeli  extracted  an 
account  of  the  same  entertainment  from  the  Sloane 
MSS. :  "  Last  Sunday  at  night,  the  Duke's  grace 
entertained  their  Majesties  and  the  French  Am- 
bassador at  York  House  with  great  feasting  and 
show,  where  all  things  came  down  in  clouds ; 
amongst  which,  one  rare  device  was  a  representa- 
tion of  the  French  King  and  the  two  Queens,  with 
their  chiefest  attendants,  and  so  to  the  life  that  the 
Queen's  Majesty  could  name  them.  It  was  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  before  they  parted,  and  then 
the  King  and  Queen,  together  with  the  French 
Ambassador,  lodged  there.  Some  estimate  this 
entertainment  at  five  or  six  thousand  pounds." l 
Sir  Balthazar  Gerbier,  writing  to  Buckingham  on 
February  8,  1625,  says :  "  Sometimes,  when  I 
am  contemplating  the  treasure  of  rarities  which 
your  Excellency  has  in  so  short  a  time  amassed,  I 
cannot  but  feel  astonishment  in  the  midst  of  my 

1  Curiosities  of  Literature,  vol.  v.,  p.  223. 
224 


V 


bir.-^jf'gBsr.'::" 


"  STEENIE'S  "  HANDSOMENESS 

joy.  For  out  of  all  the  amateurs,  and  princes,  and 
kings,  there  is  not  one  who  has  collected  in  forty 
years  as  many  pictures  as  your  Excellency  has 
collected  in  five.  Let  enemies  and  people  ignorant 
of  paintings  say  what  they  will,  they  cannot  deny 
that  pictures  are  noble  ornaments,  a  delightful 
amusement,  and  histories  that  one  may  read  with- 
out fatigue.  Our  pictures,  if  they  were  to  be  sold 
a  century  after  our  death,  would  sell  for  good  cash, 
and  for  three  times  more  than  they  have  cost.  I 
wish  I  could  only  live  a  century,  if  they  were  sold, 
to  be  able  to  laugh  at  those  facetious  folk,  who  say 
it  is  money  cast  away  for  baubles  and  shadows : 
I  know  they  will  be  pictures  still,  when  those 
ignorants  will  be  less  than  shadows." 

Buckingham,  as  is  well  known,  was  the  "  Steenie  " 
of  King  James,  who  quoted  the  passage  (Acts  vi. 
15),  in  which  it  is  said  of  St  Stephen :  "  All  that 
sat  in  the  council,  looking  steadfastly  on  him,  saw 
his  face  as  it  had  been  the  face  of  an  angel."  So 
the  King  called  his  favourite  Stephen,  and  the 
appellation  became  corrupted  into  Steenie.  Buck- 
ingham, undoubtedly,  was  a  man  of  great  per- 
sonal attraction.  Godfrey  Goodman,  Bishop  of 
Gloucester,  who  knew  him  well,  says  that,  "  Of  all 
others  he  was  most  active ;  he  had  a  very  lovely 
complexion ;  he  was  the  handsomest  bodied  man 
of  England ;  his  limbs  so  well  compacted,  and  his 

conversation  so  pleasing,  and  of  so  sweet  a  disposi- 

15  225 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

tion.  And  truly  his  intellectuals  were  very  great ; 
he  had  a  sound  judgment,  and  was  of  a  quick 
apprehension,  insomuch  that  I  have  heard  it  from 
two  men,  and  very  great  men  (neither  of  them  had 
gotten  so  little  as  £3600  per  annum  by  the  Court), 
whom  of  all  men  in  the  world  Buckingham  had 
most  wronged — yet  I  heard  both  those  men  say  and 
give  him  this  testimony,  that  he  was  as  inwardly 
beautiful  as  he  was  outwardly,  and  that  the  world 
had  not  a  more  ingenious  gentleman,  or  words  to 
that  effect."1 

His  son,  George,  the  second  Duke  of  Bucking- 
ham, was  born  in  Wallingford  House,  which  stood 
on  the  site  of  the  Admiralty  buildings,  Whitehall, 
the  house  having  been  purchased  by  his  father 
from  Lord  Wallingford,  in  1621-22.  At  Walling- 
ford House,  "  and  at  York  House  in  the  Strand," 
says  Leigh  Hunt,  "  he  turned  night  into  day,  and 
pursued  his  intrigues,  his  concerts,  his  dabblings 
in  chemistry  and  the  philosopher's  stone,  and  his 
designs  on  the  crown ;  for  Charles's  character,  and 
the  devices  of  Buckingham's  fellow  quacks  and 
astrologers,  persuaded  him  that  he  had  a  chance 
of  being  king.  When  a  youth,  he  compounded 
with  Cromwell,  and  married  Fairfax's  daughter ; — 
he  was  afterwards  all  for  the  king,  when  he  was 
not  'all  for  rhyming'  or  ousting  him; — when  an 
old  man,  or  near  it  (for  these  prodigious  possessors 

1   Bishop  Goodman's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.,  p.  371. 
226 


DRYDEN'S  DESCRIPTION 

of  animal  spirits  have  a  trick  of  lasting  a  long 
while),  he  was  still  a  youth  in  improvidence  and 
dissipation,  and  his  whole  life  was  a  dream  of  un- 
easy pleasure"1  Apart  from  his  Court  intrigues 
and  his  disordered  life,  he  is  interesting  to  lovers 
of  literature  and  the  stage  by  reason  of  his  various 
satires  and  verses,  and,  particularly,  for  The  Re- 
hearsal, brought  out  in  1671,  in  which  he  ridiculed 
contemporary  dramatists,  including  Dryden.  But 
Dryden  had  his  revenge,  for,  ten  years  later,  he 
made  Buckingham  the  Zimri  of  his  Absalom  and 
Achitophel : — 

"  Some  of  the  chiefs  were  princes  in  the  land  : 
In  the  first  rank  of  these  did  Zimri  stand, 
A  man  so  various,  that  he  seemed  to  be, 
Not  one,  but  all  mankind's  epitome  ; 
Stiff  in  opinions,  always  in  the  wrong, 
Was  everything  by  starts,  and  nothing  long  ; 
But  in  the  course  of  one  revolving  moon, 
Was  chemist,  fiddler,  statesman,  and  buffoon  ; 
Then  all  for  women,  painting,  rhyming,  drinking, 
Besides  ten  thousand  freaks  that  died  in  thinking. 
Blest  madman  !  who  could  every  hour  employ 
With  something  new  to  wish  or  to  enjoy. 
Railing  and  praising  were  his  usual  themes  ; 
And  both  to  show  his  judgment,  in  extremes  ; 
So  very  violent,  or  over  civil, 
That  every  man  with  him  was  God  or  devil. 
In  squandering  wealth  was  his  peculiar  art ; 
Nothing  went  unrewarded  but  desert. 
Beggar'd  by  fools,  whom  still  he  found  too  late, 
He  had  his  jest,  and  they  had  his  estate. 

1  The  Town,  ed.  1859,  p.  362. 

227 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

He  laugh'd  himself  from  court ;  then  sought  relief 

By  forming  parties,  but  could  ne'er  be  chief; 

For  spite  of  him,  the  weight  of  business  fell 

On  Absalom,  or  wise  Achitophel ; 

Thus  wicked  but  in  will,  of  means  bereft, 

He  left  not  faction,  but  of  that  was  left." 

Buckingham,  whose  estates  had  been  confiscated 
by  Cromwell  in  1648,  regained  control  of  York 
House  in  a  curious  manner — by  marriage  with  the 
daughter  of  General  Fairfax.  Cromwell  had  be- 
stowed this  property  on  Fairfax  at  the  time  of 
the  Civil  Wars.  "  Every  chamber,"  says  Brian 
Fairfax  in  his  Memoirs  of  Buckingham,  "  was 
adorned  with  the  arms  of  Villiers  and  Manners, 
lions  and  peacocks.  He  (Lord  Fairfax)  was  de- 
scended from  the  same  ancestors,  Earls  of  Rutland." 
We  have  the  same  authority  for  the  statement 
that  the  "  superstitious  pictures  in  York  House " 
were  ordered  to  be  sold  on  August  20,  1645,  but 
not  before  one  John  Trayleman,  an  "old  trusty 
servant,"  had  smuggled  some  of  the  treasures  over 
to  Holland,  where  they  found  a  purchaser  in  the 
Archduke  Leopold.  For  one  of  these  pictures, 
the  Ecce  Homo,  by  Titian,  the  first  Duke  of 
Buckingham  had  been  offered  £7000,  either  in 
money  or  land,  by  Lord  Arundel.  In  this  painting, 
likenesses  of  the  Pope,  Charles  V.,  and  Solyman 
the  Magnificent  were  introduced.  The  Duke 
returned   to   England  in   1657,   and   obtained   an 

introduction  to  General  Fairfax,  who  gave  a  willing 

228 


BUCKINGHAM'S  MARRIAGE 

ear  to  the  marriage  proposition.  The  lady,  we 
are  told,  could  not  resist  the  fascination  of  "  the 
most  graceful  and  beautiful  person  that  any  court 
in  Europe  saw,"  and  the  marriage  took  place  at 
Nun  Appleton,  near  York — a  seat  of  Lord  Fair- 
fax— on  September  7,  1657.  According  to  Jesse, 
Cromwell,  "  who  was  supposed  to  have  intended 
Buckingham  for  one  of  his  own  daughters,  was 
greatly  enraged  when  he  heard  of  the  match,  and 
immediately  committed  Buckingham  to  the  Tower. 
Fairfax  demanded  his  release,  which,  being  angrily 
and  obstinately  refused  by  the  Protector,  a  quarrel 
was  the  consequence."  After  the  death  of  Crom- 
well, Buckingham  was  permitted  to  remove  to 
Windsor  Castle.  At  the  Restoration  he  was 
restored  to  his  property,  and  became  "the  most 
reckless,  unprincipled,  and  irregular  character"  at 
the  Court  of  Charles  II. 

York  House  fell  from  its  high  estate  on  coming 
into  the  possession  of  General  Fairfax.  On  Nov- 
ember 27,  1655,  Evelyn  "went  to  see  York  House 
and  gardens,  belonging  to  the  former  greate  Buck- 
ingham, but  now  much  ruin'd  thro'  neglect."  In 
1661,  Baron  de  Batteville,  the  Spanish  Ambassador, 
was  lodged  there,  a  fact  which  affords  us,  through 
the  pages  of  Samuel  Pepys,  a  curious  peep  into 
the  past.  On  May  19,  1661  (Lord's  Day),  this 
delightful  chronicler  walked  in  the  morning  towards 

Westminster,  and,  seeing  many  people   at   York 

229 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

House,  he  went  down  from  the  Strand  "  and  found 
them  at  masse,  it  being  the  Spanish  Ambassador's ; 
and  so  I  got  into  one  of  the  galleries,  and  there 
heard  two  masses  done,  I  think  not  in  so  much 
state  as  I  have  seen  them  heretofore.  After  that, 
into  the  garden,  and  walked  an  hour  or  two,  but 
found  it  not  so  fine  a  place  as  I  took  it  for  by  the 
outside."  In  September  of  the  same  year,  Pepys 
witnessed  a  strange  encounter  between  the  retainers 
of  the  ambassadors  of  Spain  and  France,  which 
terminated  at  York  House :  "  This  morning,  up 
by  moonshine,  at  five  o'clock,  to  Whitehall,  to 
meet  Mr  More  at  the  Privy  Seale,  and  ther  I 
heard  of  a  fray  between  the  two  embassadors  of 
Spaine  and  France,  and  that  this  day  being  the  day 
of  the  entrance  of  an  embassador  from  Sweeden, 
they  intended  to  fight  for  the  precedence.  Our 
king,  I  heard,  ordered  that  no  Englishman  should 
meddle  in  the  business,  but  let  them  do  what  they 
would.  And  to  that  end,  all  the  soldiers  in  town 
were  in  arms  all  the  day  long,  and  some  of  the 
train  bands  in  the  city,  and  a  great  bustle  through 
the  city  all  the  day.  Then  we  took  coach  (which 
was  the  business  I  came  for)  to  Chelsey,  to  my 
Lord  Privy  Seale,  and  there  got  him  to  seal 
the  business.  Here  I  saw  by  daylight  two  very 
fine  pictures  in  the  gallery,  that  a  little  while  ago 
I  saw  by  night ;  and  did  also  go  all  over  the  house, 

and  found  it  to  be  the  prettiest  contrived  house 

230 


SPANISH  AND  FRENCH 

that  I  ever  saw  in  my  life.     So  back  again  ;  and 

Whitehall  light,  and  saw  the  soldiers  and  people 

running  up  and  down  the  streets.     So  I  went  to 

the  Spanish  embassadors  and  the  French,  and  there 

saw   great   preparations    on   both    sides ;    but   the 

French  made  the  most  noise  and  ranted  most,  but 

the  other  made  no  stir  almost  at  all ;    so  that   I 

was    afraid    the   other    would    have    too    great    a 

conquest  over  them.     Then  to  the  wardrobe  and 

dined  there  ;   and  then  abroad,  and  in  Cheapside 

hear,  that  the  Spanish  hath  got  the  best  of  it,  and 

killed  three  of  the  French  coachhorses  and  several 

men,  and  is  gone  through  the   city  next  to  our 

King's  coach  :  at  which  it  is  strange  to  see  how  all 

the  city  did  rejoice.     And,  indeed,  we  do  naturally 

all  love  the  Spanish  and  hate  the  French.     But  I, 

as  I  am  in  all  things  curious,  presently  got  to  the 

waterside,   and   there   took   oars   to    Westminster 

Palace,  and  ran  after  them  through  all  the  dirt, 

and  the  streets  full  of  people ;   till  at  last,  in  the 

Mews  [Charing  Cross],  I  saw  the  Spanish  coach  go 

with  fifty  drawn  swords  at  least  to  guard  it,  and 

our  soldiers  shouting  for  joy.     And  so  I  followed 

the  coach,  and  then  met  it  at  Yorke  House,  where 

the  embassador  lies ;    and  there  it  went  in  with 

great  state.     So  then  I  went  to  the  French  house, 

where  I  observe  still,  that  there  is  no  men  in  the 

world  of  a  more  insolent  spirit  where  they  do  well, 

nor  before  they  begin  a  matter,  and  more  abject  if 

231 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

they  do  miscarry,  than  these  people  are ;  for  they 
all  look  like  dead  men,  and  not  a  word  among  them, 
but  shake  their  heads.  The  truth  is,  the  Spaniards 
were  not  only  observed  to  fight  more  desperately, 
but  also  they  did  outwitt  them ;  first  in  lining 
their  own  harnesse  with  chains  of  iron  that  they 
could  not  be  cut,  then  in  setting  their  coach  in 
the  most  advantageous  place,  and  to  appoint  men 
to  guard  every  one  of  their  horses,  and  others  for 
to  guard  the  coach,  and  others  the  coachman. 
And,  above  all,  in  setting  upon  the  French  horses 
and  killing  them,  for  by  that  means  the  French 
were  not  able  to  stir.  There  were  several  men 
slaine  of  the  French,  and  one  or  two  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  one  Englishman  by  a  bullet. 
Which  is  very  observable,  the  French  were  at 
least  four  to  one  in  number,  and  had  near  one 
hundred  cases  of  pistols  among  them,  and  the 
Spaniards  had  not  one  gun  among  them,  which 
is  for  their  honour  for  ever,  and  the  others'  disgrace. 
So  having  been  very  much  daubed  with  dirt,  I 
got  a  coach  and  home ;  where  I  vexed  my  wife  in 
telling  her  of  this  story,  and  pleading  for  the 
Spaniards  against  the  French." 

But  the  whirligig  of  time  brings  in  its  own  re- 
venges, and,  in  1672,  the  French  Ambassador  was 
installed  at  York  House.  On  April  4,  Evelyn 
"went  to  see    the    fopperies   of   the    Papists   at 

Somerset  House  and  York  House,  where  now  the 

232 


MORE  AMBASSADORS 

French  Ambassador  had  caus'd  to  be  represented 
our  Blessed  Saviour  at  the  Paschal  Supper  with 
his  disciples,  in  figures  and  puppets  made  as  big 
as  the  life,  of  wax-work,  curiously  clad  and  sitting 
round  a  large  table,  the  roome  nobly  hung,  and 
shining  with  innumerable  lamps  and  candles  ;  this 
was  expos'd  to  all  the  world,  all  the  Citty  came  to 
see  it :  such  liberty  had  the  Roman  Catholicks  at 
this  time  obtain'd."  In  1663,  the  Russian  Am- 
bassador was  in  occupation.  On  June  6,  of  that 
year,  Pepys  journeyed  "  To  York  House,  where 
the  Russian  Embassador  do  lie ;  and  there  I  saw 
his  people  go  up  and  down  losing  themselves  :  they 
are  all  in  a  great  hurry,  being  to  be  gone  the 
beginning  of  next  week.  But  that  that  pleased 
me  best,  was  the  remains  of  the  noble  soul  of  the 
late  Duke  of  Buckingham  appearing  in  his  house, 
in  every  place,  in  the  door-cases  and  the  windows. 
Sir  John  Hebden,  the  Russian  Resident,  did  tell 
me  how  he  is  vexed  to  see  things  at  Court  ordered 
as  they  are  by  nobody  that  attends  to  business, 
but  every  man  himself  or  his  pleasures.  He  cries 
up  my  Lord  Ashley  to  be  almost  the  only  man 
that  he  sees  to  look  after  business ;  and  with  the 
ease  and  mastery,  that  he  wonders  at  him.  He 
cries  out  against  the  King's  dealing  so  much  with 
goldsmiths,  and  suffering  himself  to  have  his  purse 
kept  and  commanded  by  them." 

How   the   French  Ambassador  came   to  be  in 

233 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

residence  at  York  House  in  April,  1672 — as  most 
certainly  he  was — is  somewhat  curious.  For,  by 
a  deed  dated  January  1,  of  that  year,  the  Duke 
sold  the  house  and  gardens  in  order  to  obtain 
money  for  his  extravagances.  The  purchasers 
were  Roger  Higgs,  of  St  Margaret's,  Westminster, 
Esq.  ;  Emery  Hill,  of  Westminster,  gentleman ; 
Nicholas  Eddyn,  of  Westminster,  woodmonger ;  and 
John  Green,  of  Westminster,  brewer ;  and  the  price 
of  the  property  was  £30,000.  In  1668,  the  rental 
of  "  York  House  and  tenements,  in  the  Strand," 
had  been  fixed  at  £1359,  10s.  The  Duke  made 
it  a  condition  of  the  sale  that  his  name  should  be 
commemorated  in  the  new  buildings  to  be  erected 
on  the  site  of  York  House ;  hence  we  have  York 
Buildings,  Buckingham  Street,  Villiers  Street,  and 
Duke  Street,  at  the  present  day.  There  was  even 
an  "Of"  Lane,  but  this  has  been  converted  into 
George  Court.  It  is  said  that,  with  part  of  the 
money  thus  obtained,  the  Duke  purchased  land  in 
Dowgate.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  nomenclature  of 
the  York  House  estate  caused  much  derision  at 
the  time,  and  brought  forth  The  Litany  of  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  a  merry  satire  containing 
the  following-  exhortation  : — 

"  From  damning  whatever  we  don't  understand, 
From  purchasing  at  Dowgate,  and  selling  in  the  Strand, 
Calling  streets  by  our  name  when  we  have  sold  the  land, 

Libera  nos  Domine  !  " 

234 


CHAPTER  XI 

The  York  Water-Gate — Inigo  Jones'  Beautiful  Work — Built  for 
the  Duke  of  Buckingham — The  Proposal  for  its  Removal — 
Satires  on  the  Subject — The  Gate  Neglected — Its  Restora- 
tion —  The  Water  Tower  —  The  West-end  supplied  with 
Water  from  Here  —  The  Steam  Engine  —  Samuel  Pepys 
resides  in  Buckingham  Street — William  Etty  and  Clarkson 
Stanfield  —  Peter  the  Great  Lodges  Here — His  Love  of 
Strong  Drink — The  Witty  Earl  of  Dorset — David  Hume 
and  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau — Moore  writes  to  his  Publisher 
Here — The  Father  of  Modern  Geology — A  Great  Actor 
dies  Here — The  Original  of  Smollett's  Hugh  Strap — David 
Copperfield's  Chambers — Evelyn  lives  in  Villiers  Street — 
Sir  Richard  Steele — Zara  acted  Here — Mrs  Cibber — Mis- 
statement by  "  Anthony  Pasquin." 

Although  every  trace  of  York  House  itself  has 

been  long  ago  obliterated,  there  still  remains  the 

water-gate,  one  of  the  most  interesting  historical 

relics  in  London.     Peter  the  Great's  house,  which 

formerly  overlooked  it,  has  given  place   only  this 

year  to  a  new  building,  but  the  "  stairs "  which 

were  erected   for  the  first  Duke  of  Buckingham 

are  still  here  to  remind  us  of  many  celebrities  who 

came  to   this   hallowed   spot    from    the    days   of 

"  Steenie  "  until  the  beginning  of  the  last  century. 

235 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

The  architect  of  this  charming  piece  of  work  was 

Inigo  Jones  (1573-1652),  and  the  date  of  its  erection 

can   safely  be  attributed  to  the  year  1625.     One 

Nicholas    Stone    (1586-1647)    has    been    wrongly 

credited  with  the  design.     In  his  Account  Book  of 

Workes,  which  is  in  the  library  of  Sir  John  Soane's 

Museum,  it  is  said :    "  The    Water-gate  at   York 

House  hee  dessined  and  built ;  and  ye  right  hand 

lion  hee  did,  fronting  ye  Thames.     Mr  Kearne,  a 

Jarman,  his  brother  by  marrying,  did  ye  Shee  lion." 

But  Stone — whose  best  work  was  in  tombs,  those  of 

Bodley  at  Oxford  and  Donne  in  St  Paul's  being 

his  most  celebrated — carried  out  many  of  the  designs 

of  Inigo   Jones,   and,   from   this   cause,    I   fancy, 

came  his  claim  to  the  York  water-gate.      These 

"  stairs,"  as  they  were  commonly  called,  have  been 

described  as  "unquestionably  the  most  perfect  piece 

of  building  that  does  honour  to  the  name  of  Inigo 

Jones  —  planned   in   so   exquisite  a  taste,  formed 

of  such  equal  and  harmonious  parts,  and  adorned 

with   such   proper  and    elegant   decorations,   that 

nothing  can  be  censured  or  added.     It  is  at  once 

happy  in   its   situation,   beyond   comparison,   and 

fancied  in  a  style  exactly  suited  to  that  situation. 

The   rock-work,   or   rustic,   can    never    be    better 

introduced  than  in  buildings  by  the  side  of  water ; 

and,  indeed,  it  is  a  great  question  whether  it  ought 

to  be  made  use  of  any  where  else."     The  arms 

of  the  Villiers  family — now  the  worse  for  wear, 
236 


YORK  WATER-GATE 

but  still  visible — appear  on  the  side  facing  the 
Thames,  and,  on  the  reverse,  is  to  be  seen  their 
motto:  Fidei  Coticula  Crux — the  Cross  is  the 
Touch-stone  of  Faith.  The  terrace  on  this  side 
was  planted  with  lime-trees,  and,  less  than  a 
century  ago,  was  "  supported  by  a  rate  raised  upon 
the  houses  in  the  neighbouring  streets ;  and,  being 
enclosed  from  the  public,  forms  an  agreeable 
promenade  for  the  inhabitants." 

This  famous  water-gate  has  had  its  vicissitudes. 
In  1767,  there  was  a  proposal  for  its  removal,  but, 
fortunately,  this  act  of  vandalism  was  not  allowed 
to  take  place.  The  suggestion  gave  rise  to  various 
protests,  one  of  which  took  the  following  form  : — 

"  Sacred 
to  the  Memory  and  Reputation  of 

INIGO  JONES. 

Let  no  Hand  attempt  to  remove  me : 

A  Mind  improved  by  Taste 

Will  consider  me  as  a  bulwark 

To  controul  the  Waves, 

Repel  the  Flood, 

And  buffet  the  Western  Blasts  that  annoy 

The  Inhabitant. 

I  am  the  only  perfect  Building  of  the  Kind 

In  England ; 

An  search  Europe  thro',  none  excell  me. 

Who 

Seek  to  destroy  me, 

Repentance  shall  o'er-take. 

Genius  shall  hunt  them  from  Society, 

Contempt  shall  mark  them  for  her  own." 

Whether  the  sinful  souls  who  had  thought   to 

237 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

execute  their  fell  purpose  ever  repented  or  were 
hunted  "  from  Society,"  is  not  recorded.  Another 
satire  was  in  more  lively  strain  : — 

"  A  strange  hubble  bubble 
Confusion  and  trouble 
Has  been  about  York  Buildings  Gate  ; 

And  some  gentlemen  swear 

It  shall  not  stand  there, 
It's  a  thing,  above  all,  that  they  hate. 

Tho'  'twas  Inigo  Jones 
Plan'd  the  piling  these  stones, 

And  superb  is  the  architecture  ; 
But  alas !  some  so  say 
It  does  stand  in  the  way 

Of  one  that's  a  Terras  director. 

Must  this  building  at  length 
Render  up  all  its  strength, 

That's  withstood  the  tempestuous  billows  ; 
Even  rain,  storms  of  hail, 
Stood  secure  from  each  gale, 

To  please  some  testy  old  fellows. 

Last  Wedn'sday  at  night 
With  all  malice  and  spite 

Poor  Inigo' s  fame  they  did  sully ; 
Till  a  member  arose 
And  opposed  his  foes 

Verbatim  he  spoke  like  a  Tully. 

Some  the  cause  did  maintain, 
That  it  should  there  remain, 

Or  where  can  we  go  helter-skelter  ? 
At  a  time  when  it  rains, 
Without  trouble  or  pains 

The  ladies  go  there  for  a  shelter. 
238 


THE  WATER  TOWER 

And  from  Phoebus's  Rays, 
In  hot,  sultry  days, 

To  be  free  from  intenseness  of  heat ; 
Such  a  prospect  it  gains 
O'er  the  river  of  Thames, 

There's  not  a  more  pleasing  retreat. 

T.  B." 

The  gate  had  become  so  neglected  in  1823  that 

it  was  necessary  to  repair  the  roof  and  stone-work 

and  to  renew  the  iron- work.     This  was  done  at  a 

cost   of  £300,    defrayed   by  a   rate  levied   on  the 

occupants  of  York  Buildings.     Thirteen  years  later, 

however,   I    find   a   complaint   that   the   gate  had 

been     allowed     "  from     neglect,     to     be     almost 

smothered  in  river  mud."     Again,  in  1854,  it  was 

said  to  be  "  in  a  ruinous  state  " — a  view  of  the  case 

which  is   somewhat   exaggerated,  for   the  gate   is 

still  in  wonderful  preservation,  considering  its  age 

and  the  destructive  nature  of  the  London  climate. 

The  gate,  and  the  terrace  behind,  are  now  under 

the  control  of  the  London  County  Council.     It  is 

.  a  pity  that  the  "  stairs  "  are  so  hidden  in  the  hollow 

of  the  gardens,  but  this  cannot  be  avoided.     The 

terrace,  which  leads  from  Villiers  Street  to  York 

Buildings,    with   an    entrance    from    Buckingham 

Street,  is  well-kept,  and,  very  properly,  it  is  only 

open  during  the  day. 

In  the  frontispiece  to  this  volume,  and  in  some 

of  the  other  illustrations,  there  is  to  be  seen,  to  the 

left  of  the  water-gate,  a  strange-looking  "  octangular 

239 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

structure,  about  seventy  feet  high,  with  small  round 
loopholes  as  windows."  This  is  the  tower  of  some 
works  which  were  made  in  the  twenty-seventh 
year  of  King  Charles  II.  for  the  supply  of  water 
from  the  silvery  Thames  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
west  end.  Many  of  the  wooden  pipes  through  which 
the  water  was  conveyed  have  been  excavated  from 
time  to  time  in  Brook  Street,  Grosvenor  Square, 
and  other  places.  In  1688,  there  were  forty-eight 
shares  in  the  company.  After  the  Scotch  rebellion 
in  1715,  the  company  invested  large  sums  in 
purchasing  forfeited  estates,  which  no  Scot  would 
buy.  Bankruptcy  followed,  and,  in  1783,  the 
Scotch  estates  were  sold  for  £102,537.1  A  curious 
description  of  the  works  is  given  in  the  Foreigner's 
Guide  to  London  for  1720 :  "  Here  you  see  a 
high  wooden  tower  and  a  water-engine  of  a  new 
invention,  that  draws  out  of  the  Thames  above 
three  tons  of  water  in  one  minute,  by  means  of 
the  steam  arising  from  water  boiling  in  a  great 
copper,  a  continual  fire  being  kept  to  that  purpose ; 
the  steam  being  compressed  and  condensed,  moves, 
by  its  evaporation,  and  strikes  a  counterpoise, 
which  counterpoise  striking  another,  at  last  moves 
a  great  beam,  which,  by  its  motion  of  going  up 
and  down,  draws  water  from  the  river  which 
mounts  through  great  iron  pipes  to  the  height  of 
the   tower,   discharging  itself  there   into   a    deep 

1  Gentleman's  Magazine,  August  1783,  p.  709- 
240 


SAMUEL  PEPYS 

leaden  cistern ;  and  thence  falling  through  other 
large  iron  pipes,  fills  them  that  are  laid  along  the 
streets,  and  so  continuing  to  run  through  wooden 
pipes  as  far  as  Mar-bone  fields,  falls  there  into  a 
large  pond  or  reservoir,  from  whence  the  new 
buildings  near  Hanover  Square,  and  many  thousand 
houses,  are  supplied  with  water.  This  machine  is 
certainly  a  great  curiosity,  and  though  it  be  not  so 
large  as  that  of  Marly  in  France,  yet,  considering 
its  smallness  in  comparison  with  that,  and  the  little 
charge  it  was  built  and  kept  with,  and  the  quantity 
of  water  it  draws,  its  use  and  benefit  is  much 
beyond  that."  This  steam-engine  was  not  in  use 
after  1731,  but  it  was  shown  for  some  years  later 
as  a  curiosity.  The  cost  of  working  the  machine, 
"and  some  other  reasons  concurring,  made  its 
proprietors,  the  York  Buildings  Waterworks  Com- 
pany, lay  aside  the  design  ;  and  no  doubt  but  the 
inhabitants  of  this  neighbourhood  are  very  glad  of 
it,  for  its  working,  which  was  by  sea-coal,  was 
attended  with  so  much  smoke,  that  it  not  only 
must  pollute  the  air  thereabouts,  but  spoil  the 
furniture."1 

Buckingham  Street  is  hallowed  by  the  memory 
of  many  celebrities.  Here,  at  the  last  house  on 
the  west  facing  the  river  (since  rebuilt,  and  now 
numbered  14),  Samuel  Pepys  lived  from  1684  to 
1700.      Pepys,    unfortunately,    had     finished    his 

1  All  Alive  and  Merry,  or  the  London  Daily  Post,  April  18,  1741. 

16  241 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Diary  in  1669,  or  we  should  have  had  some  quaint 
observations  from  him  in  reference  to  his  residence 
here.  The  house  had  been  occupied  previously  by 
his  great  friend,  William  Hewer,  at  whose  resi- 
dence in  Clapham  the  genial  gossip  died  in  1703. 
No.  14  was  the  home  of  William  Etty,  It. A., 
from  the  summer  of  1824  until  shortly  before  his 
death  in  1849.  He  first  occupied  the  ground  floor, 
but  he  moved  to  the  top  rooms,  as  he  loved  to 
watch  the  sunsets  over  the  Thames.  The  ebb  and 
flow  of  the  river,  he  declared,  was  like  life,  and 
"  the  view  from  Lambeth  to  the  Abbey  not  unlike 
Venice.  Here  he  invited  Thomas  Stothard,  the 
famous  painter,  to  breakfast  at  nine  o'clock,  when 
there  is  a  good  light  to  see  my  Venetian  studies  of 
colour,  which  are  all  hung  round  the  room  where  I 
breakfast."  In  these  rooms,  "the  artists  of  two 
generations  have  assembled  —  Fuseli,  Flaxman, 
Holland,  Constable,  and  Hilton  —  then  Turner, 
Maclise,  Dyce,  Herbert,  and  all  the  younger 
race."1  Clarkson  Stanfield,  the  landscape  painter, 
who  designed  some  beautiful  scenery  for  Drury 
Lane  and  painted  a  drop-scene  for  Dickens, 
occupied  the  lower  rooms  for  some  years. 

"  Should  my  reader's  boat  ever  stop  at  York 
Water  Gate,"  wrote  J.  T.  Smith,  in  his  Book  for  a 
Rainy  Day,  "  let  me  request  him  to  look  up  at  the 
three   upper  balconied   windows   of  that   mass  of 

1  Haunted  London,  p.  136. 
242 


PETER  THE  GREAT 

building  at  the  south-west  corner  of  Buckingham 
Street.  Those,  and  the  two  adjoining  West- 
minster, give  light  to  chambers  occupied  by  that 
truly  epic  historical  painter,  and  most  excellent 
man,  Etty,  the  Royal  Academician,  who  has  fitted 
up  the  balconied  room  with  engravings  after 
pictures  of  the  three  great  masters,  Raphael, 
Nicholas  Poussin,  and  Rubens.  The  other  two 
windows  illuminate  his  painting  room,  in  which  his 
mind  and  colours  resplendently  shine,  even  in  the 
face  of  one  of  the  grandest  scenes  in  Nature,  our 
River  Thames  and  City  edifices,  with  a  most 
luxuriant  and  extensive  face  of  a  distant  country, 
the  beauties  of  which  he  most  liberally  delights  in 
showing  to  his  friends  from  the  leads  of  his  apart- 
ments. .  .  .  The  rooms  immediately  below  Mr 
Etty's  are  occupied  by  Mr  Lloyd,  a  gentleman 
whose  general  knowledge  in  the  graphic  art  I  and 
many  more  look  up  to  with  the  profoundest  re- 
spect. The  chambers  beneath  Mr  Lloyd's  are 
inhabited  by  Mr  Stanfield,  the  landscape  painter." 
In  the  house  on  the  opposite  corner — now  de- 
molished, as  already  stated,  but  to  be  seen  in  the 
"  view  of  Westminster  from  the  Thames,  1750  " — 
lived,  for  three  months,  in  1698,  Peter  the  Great. 
Here  he  returned  from  his  work  at  Deptford, 
spending  his  evenings  with  his  cicerone,  Lord 
Carmarthen,  drinking  a  pint  of  hot  brandy,  further 

warmed  by  the  addition  of  cayenne  pepper,  after 

243 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

he  had  consumed  numberless  draughts  of  wine.  It 
is  said  that  on  one  occasion  he  drank  a  pint  of 
brandy,  a  bottle  of  sherry,  and  eight  flasks  of  sack, 
after  which  he  went  to  the  theatre.  While  in 
Buckingham  Street  he  "  was  so  annoyed  with  the 
vulgar  curiosity  of  intrusive  citizens,  that  he  would 
sometimes  rise  from  his  dinner  and  leave  the  room 
in  a  rage.  Here  the  Quakers  forced  themselves 
upon  him,  and  presented  him  with  Barclays 
Apology,  after  which  the  Czar  attended  their 
meeting  in  Gracechurch  Street.  He  once  asked 
them  of  what  use  they  were  to  any  kingdom,  since 
they  would  not  bear  arms.  On  taking  his  farewell 
of  King  William,  Peter  drew  a  rough  ruby,  valued 
at  £10,000,  from  his  waistcoat  pocket,  and  pre- 
sented it  to  him  screwed  up  in  brown  paper.  He 
went  back  just  in  time  to  crush  the  Strelitzes, 
imprison  his  sister  Sophia,  and  wage  war  on  Charles 
XII.  The  great  reformer  was  only  twenty-six 
years  old  when  he  visited  England." 

Other  famous  inhabitants  of  Buckingham  Street 
include,  in  1681,  Charles  Sackville,  the  sixth  Earl 
of  Dorset,  the  poet  and  wit ;  in  1706,  Robert 
Harley  (afterwards  Earl  of  Oxford),  who  received 
such  high  praise  from  Pope  and  Swift ;  and,  in 
1727,  James  Well  wood,  physician  and  author.  A 
very  interesting  literary  association  is  that  of 
David  Hume  and  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  who,  in 

1766,  were  made  welcome   at   his   house   in   this 
244 


JOHN  HENDERSON 

street  by  Hume's  friend,  John  Stewart.  Subse- 
quently they  "  removed  into  lodgings  a  few  doors 
off.  In  one  or  other  of  these  houses  Rousseau 
laid  the  scene  of  all  the  imaginary  insults  heaped 
upon  him  by  his  brother  philosopher,  the  crown- 
ing injury  being  inflicted  at  their  parting  in 
Buckingham  Street,  which  Rousseau  describes 
with  such  comic  vehemence.  Whilst  here, 
Rousseau  was  the  object  of  much  curiosity."1  Mr 
Wheatley  also  states  that  No.  22  was  the  house  of 
Power,  the  publisher  of  the  Irish  Melodies,  to 
whom  Moore  wrote  so  frequently,  and  that 
"  Strata  "  Smith,  "  the  father  of  modern  geology," 
lived  in  this  street,  his  young  nephew,  John 
Phillips  (afterwards  the  Oxford  professor),  being 
with  him.  One  of  the  most  noted  representatives 
of  Hamlet  and  Falstaff  died  at  his  house  in 
Buckingham  Street  in  1785.  This  was  John 
Henderson,  who,  although  without  many  personal 
advantages,  achieved  a  great  position.  He  was 
"the  soul  of  feeling  and  intelligence." 

In  the  lodge  of  the  terrace  at  the  foot  of 
Buckingham  Street  lived,  for  several  years  before 
his  death  in  1809,  Hugh  Hewson,  the  original  of 
Smollett's  Hugh  Strap  in  Roderick  Random,  the 
simple,  generous  adherent  whose  generosity  and 
fidelity  met  with  such  a  base  return  from  the 
heartless  libertine.     Another  memory  of  this  small 

1  London  Past  and  Present,  vol.  i.,  p.  296. 

245 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

street  brings  us  once  more  to  Dickens  and  David 
Copperfield.  For  it  was  here  that  Copperfield 
lodged  when  he  was  undergoing  his  month's 
probation  with  Spenlow  and  Jorkins.  Betsy 
Trotwood  announced  to  her  nephew  :  "  '  There's  a 
furnished  little  set  of  chambers  to  be  let  in  the 
Adelphi,  Trot,  which  ought  to  suit  you  to  a 
marvel.' 

"  With  this  brief  introduction,  she  produced  from 
her  pocket  an  advertisement,  carefully  cut  out  of 
a  newspaper,  setting  forth  that  in  Buckingham 
Street  in  the  Adelphi  there  was  to  be  let  furnished, 
with  a  view  of  the  river,  a  singularly  desirable 
and  compact  set  of  chambers,  forming  a  genteel 
residence  for  a  young  gentleman,  a  member  of  one 
of  the  Inns  of  Court,  or  otherwise,  with  immediate 
possession.  Terms  moderate,  and  could  be  taken 
for  a  month  only,  if  required. 

" '  Why,  this  is  the  very  thing,  aunt ! '  said  I, 
flushed  with  the  possible  dignity  of  living  in 
chambers. 

"'Then  come,'  replied  my  aunt,  immediately 
resuming  the  bonnet  she  had  a  minute  before  laid 
aside.     '  We'll  go  and  look  at  'em.' 

"  Away  we  went.      The  advertisement  directed 

us  to  apply  to  Mrs  Crupp  on  the  premises,  and 

we  rang    the   area   bell,   which    we    supposed    to 

communicate  with  Mrs  Crupp.     It  was  not  until 

we  had  rung  three  or  four  times  that  we  could 
246 


SIR  RICHARD  STEELE 

prevail  on  Mrs  Crupp  to  communicate  with  us, 
but  at  last  she  appeared,  being  a  stout  lady  with 
a  flounce  of  flannel  petticoat  below  a  nankeen 
gown."1  For  a  further  description  of  Copperfield's 
life  in  Buckingham  Street,  I  must  refer  my  readers 
to  the  pages  of  Dickens. 

The  earliest  mention  that  we  have  of  Villiers 
Street  is  found  in  the  diary  of  the  pious  and 
amiable  John  Evelyn,  who,  on  November  17,  1683, 
sets  down :  "I  took  a  house  in  Villiers  Street, 
York  Buildings,  for  the  winter,  having  many 
important  concerns  to  dispatch,  and  for  the 
education  of  my  daughters."  Addison's  friend, 
Sir  Richard  Steele,  lived  here  after  the  death  of 
his  wife,  the  jealous  "  Prue,"  in  1721,  until  1724. 
While  he  was  here,  his  last  comedy,  The  Conscious 
Lovers,  was  produced  at  Drury  Lane,  in  1722. 
There  was  a  celebrated  music  room  in  this  street. 
The  building,  erected  in  1680,  was  popular  for  half 
a  century,  and  was  pulled  down  in  1758.  It 
contained  a  beautiful  ceiling,  painted  by  Verrio, 
which  had  been  incorporated  from  York  House, 
and,  as  it  could  not  be  removed,  it  was,  perforce, 
destroyed.  The  Fair  Penitent,  Jane  Shore,  The 
Beggars  Opera,  and  other  well-known  pieces  were 
performed  here.  In  the  Miscellanies  of  the  dramatist, 
Aaron  Hill  (1685-1750),  is  "A  Prologue  for  the 
third  night  of  Zara" — which  Hill  had  translated 

1  David  Copperfield,  chap,  xxiii. 

247 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

from  Voltaire — "when  first  played  at  the  Great 
Musick  Room,  in  Villars  Street,  York  Buildings," 
in  1735.  The  representative  of  Lusignan — one 
of  Garrick's  best  parts — a  gentleman  named  Bond, 
expired  on  the  stage.  At  the  first  representation 
of  the  piece,  a  young  gentleman,  a  relation  of  the 
author's,  attempted  the  character  of  Osman,  but 
without  success,  despite  the  great  pains  taken  at 
rehearsal  by  the  adapter.  Zara  was  still  more 
remarkable  for  the  appearance  in  it,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five,  of  Mrs  Cibber,  who  subsequently 
achieved  such  great  fame  on  the  stage.  Zara  was 
her  first  attempt  in  tragedy.  On  the  sole  authority 
of  that  wicked  libeller  and  scurrilous  writer, 
"  Anthony  Pasquin,"  otherwise  John  Williams, 
"  one  of  the  dirtiest  and  most  disreputable  fellows 
that  ever  disgraced  the  literary  profession,"  it  has 
been  related  that  Garrick,  three  years  before  he 
appeared  for  the  first  time  on  the  London  stage, 
had  acted  in  the  Duke's  Theatre,  and  that  "the 
ladies  who  were  present  were  so  fascinated  by 
Mr  Garrick's  powers  that  they  offered  him  their 
trinkets  and  their  purses  from  the  boxes."  This 
is  not  so.  Garrick  did  not  play  before  the  public 
in  London  until  October  19,  1741. 


248 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  Strand  in  1353 — St  Mary  Rounceval — Northampton  House 
— Earl  of  Surrey,  the  Poet — Suffolk  House— Suckling's 
Ballade  upon  a  Wedding — Algernon  Percy,  Earl  of  North- 
umberland— The  Restoration  planned  at  Northumberland 
House — Lady  Elizabeth  Percy — Her  Romantic  Marriages — 
Murder  of  "  Tom  of  Ten  Thousand" — The  "Proud  "  Duke  of 
Somerset — Edwin  and  Angelina — Goldsmith  at  Northumber- 
land House — Fire  Here — Dr  Percy's  Library  saved — the 
Famous  Lion — Demolition  of  the  House — The  Duke's 
Lament — Northumberland  Avenue — Craven  Street — Ben- 
jamin Franklin — Sir  Joshua  Reynolds — Heinrich  Heine — 
The  Author  of  Rejected  Addresses — J.  S.  Clarke. 

The  last  of  the   great   mansions   of  the   Strand, 

Northumberland  House,  which  was  swept  away  so 

recently  as  1874,  was  a  landmark  of  great  antiquity. 

For  it  terminated  the  palaces  of  the  nobles  which 

existed  for  centuries  on   the   north   bank   of  the 

Thames   from   Blackfriars   to   Charing   Cross.     It 

may  be  observed  that  in  1353  the  Strand  was  an 

open  highway,  with  here  and  there  a  great  man's 

house  where  gardens  stretched  to  the  water's  edge. 

It  was   then    so    impassable    that    Edward    III. 

directed  the  levying  of  a  tax  upon  wool,  leather, 

249 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

wine,  and  "all  goods"  carried  to  Westminster 
from  Temple  Bar  to  the  Abbey,  for  the  repair  of 
the  road  ;  and  he  further  ordered  that  all  owners 
of  houses  adjacent  to  the  highway  should  repair  as 
much  as  lay  before  their  doors.  "There  was  no 
continued  street  here,"  says  Pennant,  "  till  about 
1533:  before  that  time  it  entirely  cut  off  West- 
minster from  London,  and  nothing  intervened 
except  a  few  scattered  houses,  and  a  village  which 
afterwards  gave  name  to  the  whole.  St  Martin's 
stood  literally  in  the  fields.  But  about  the  year 
1560  a  street  was  formed,  loosely  built ;  for  all  the 
houses  on  the  south  side  had  great  gardens  to  the 
river,  were  called  by  their  owners'  names,  and  in 
aftertimes  gave  name  to  the  several  streets  that 
succeeded  them,  pointing  down  to  the  Thames ; 
each  of  them  had  stairs  for  the  conveniency  of 
taking  boat.  .  .  .  The  north  side  was  a  mere  line 
of  houses  from  Charing  Cross  to  Temple  Bar ;  all 
beyond  was  country.  The  gardens  which  occupied 
part  of  the  site  of  Covent  Garden  were  bounded 
by  fields,  and  St  Giles's  was  a  distant  country 
village." 

The  site  of  Northumberland  House  was  that 
which  had  been  previously  occupied  by  the 
"  hospital "  or  chapel  of  St  Mary  Rounceval. 
"Then,"  says  Stow,  "there  was  an  hospital  of  St 
Marie  Rouncivall  by  Charing  Cross  (a  cell  to  the 

priory  and  convent  of  Roncesvalles  in  Navarre,  in 
250 


NORTHAMPTON  HOUSE 

Pamplona  diocese),  where  a  fraternity  was  founded 
in  the  15th  year  of  Edward  IV.,  but  now  the  same 
is  suppressed  and  turned  into  tenements."  On 
the  other  hand,  Pennant  gives  it  a  still  greater 
antiquity,  for  he  states  that  the  chapel  was  founded, 
by  William,  Earl  of  Pembroke,  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  III.,  repressed  by  Henry  V.  among  the 
alien  priories,  and  rebuilt  by  Edward  IV.,  "who 
fixed  a  fraternity  in  it."  Dissolved  by  Henry 
VIII.,  the  property  was  granted  by  Edward  VI. 
to  Sir  Thomas  Cawarden,  a  private  individual  who 
did  not  attain  to  fame.  From  him  it  passed  to 
Sir  Robert  Brett,  and  thence,  by  purchase,  to 
Henry  Howard,  Earl  of  Northampton,  who,  in 
the  reign  of  James  I.,  built  the  immediate  pre- 
decessor of  Northumberland  House.  This  Henry 
Howard,  the  first  Earl  of  Northampton  (1540- 
1614)  was  the  second  son  of  Henry  Howard,  Earl 
of  Surrey,  the  poet.  He  was  the  most  learned 
nobleman  of  his  day.  He  may  have  had  some 
religious  sentiment  in  purchasing  the  original  site 
of  the  chapel  of  St  Mary,  for  he  lived  and  died  a 
Roman  Catholic. 

In  the  building  of  his  "sumptuous  palace," 
which  he  called  Northampton  House,  he  had  for 
his  architects  Bernard  Jansen,  who  was  more  a 
stonemason  than  an  architect,  and  another  maker 
of  funeral  monuments,  Gerrard  Christmas  (Garret 

Christmas).      The   latter   carved   for    himself  the 

251 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

initals  C.  M.  (Christmas  iEdificavit),  in  large 
capitals  over  the  old  stone  gateway,  which  was 
replaced  by  a  new  front  towards  the  Strand  in  the 
reign  of  George  II.  At  that  time  the  house 
consisted  of  three  sides  of  a  quadrangle,  the  centre 
facing  the  Strand,  and,  of  course,  with  gardens  down 
to  the  river.  The  Earl  of  Northampton  died  here 
in  1614,  and  by  his  will  bequeathed  the  house  and 
garden  to  his  nephew,  Thomas  Howard,  first  Earl 
of  Suffolk,  the  second  son  of  Thomas  Howard  the 
third,  fourth  Duke  of  Norfolk.  As  Lord  Thomas 
Howard  he  distinguished  himself  against  the 
Armada  in  1588.  He  completed  the  quadrangle 
of  Northampton  House  by  building  the  front 
towards  the  Thames,  and  he  changed  the  name  to 
Suffolk  House.  The  Earl  of  Suffolk  died  here  in 
1626,  and  his  son,  Theophilus,  inherited  the 
property.  On  his  death,  in  1640,  James,  the  third 
Earl  of  Suffolk  (1619-1688),  inherited  it.  His 
sister,  the  Lady  Elizabeth  Howard,  was  married, 
in  1642,  to  Algernon  Percy,  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land. By  an  indenture  dated  a  few  days  before  the 
marriage,  the  property  was  conveyed  by  the  Earl 
of  Suffolk  to  the  Earl  of  Northumberland,  a  change 
which  led  also  to  the  nomenclature  of  the  house, 
which  has  had  such  a  long  career,  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  which  many  Londoners  still  lament. 

Before  coming  to  the  history  of  Northumberland 

House  as  it  appeared  from  the  middle  of  the 
252 


SUCKLING'S  "BALLADE" 

seventeenth  century — when  great  changes  were 
made  in  its  structure — until  its  demolition  in  1874, 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  one  of  the  quaintest,  and, 
in  some  respects,  most  charming  of  the  old  English 
poems  had  its  origin  in  the  marriage  of  Roger 
Boyle,  Lord  Broghill,  the  first  Earl  of  Orrery,  to 
Lady  Margaret  Howard,  daughter  of  the  first  Earl 
of  Suffolk,  the  builder  of  Northampton  House. 
This  is  the  event  which  called  forth,  in  1637,  Sir 
John  Suckling's  Ballade  upon  a  Wedding,  in 
which  one  of  the  prettiest  conceits  in  the  English 
language  occurs.  The  verses  are  too  long  to  quote 
in  extenso,  but  some  extracts  may  be  given,  as 
they  are  germane  to  the  matter  of  this  particular 
history.  The  wedding  is  supposed  to  be  described 
by  a  rustic,  writing  to  his  friend  in  the  country : — 

"  I  tell  thee,  Dick,  where  I  have  been, 
Where  I  the  rarest  things  have  seen. 

At  Charing-Crosse,  hard  by  the  way 
Where  we  (thou  know'st)  do  sell  our  hay, 

There  is  a  house  with  stairs ; 
And  there  did  I  see  comming  down 
Such  folk  as  are  not  in  our  town, 

Vorty,  at  least,  in  pairs. 

Her  finger  was  so  small,  the  ring 
Would  not  stay  on  which  they  did  bring, 

It  was  too  wide  a  peck. 
And  to  say  truth,  for  out  it  must, 
It  looked  like  the  great  collar,  just, 

About  our  young  colt's  neck. 

253 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Her  feet  beneath  her  petticoat, 
Like  little  mice  stole  in  and  out, 

As  if  they  feared  the  light. 
But  oh  !  she  dances  such  a  way, 
No  sun  upon  an  Easter  day 

Is  half  so  fine  a  sight. 


Her  cheeks  so  rare  a  white  was  on, 
No  daisy  makes  comparison, 

Who  sees  them  is  undone  ; 
For  streaks  of  red  were  mingled  there, 
Such  as  are  on  a  Katherine  pear, 

The  side  that's  next  the  sun. 

Her  lips  were  red,  and  one  was  thin ; 
Compared  to  that  was  next  her  chin, 

Some  bee  had  stung  it  newly  ; 
But  Dick,  her  eyes  so  guard  her  face, 
I  durst  no  more  upon  them  gaze, 

Than  on  the  sun  in  July. 

Her  mouth  so  small  when  she  does  speak, 
Thoud'st  swear  her  teeth  her  words  did  break, 

That  they  might  passage  get ; 
But  she  so  handled  still  the  matter, 
They  came  as  good  as  ours  or  better, 

And  are  not  spent  a  whit." 

Algernon  Percy,  the  tenth  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land, who  was  called  by  Lord  Clarendon  "the 
proudest  man  alive,"  became  guardian  of  the  two 
youngest  children  of  Charles  I.  in  1645,  and  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  appointed  to  negotiate 
with  the  King  at  Newport  in  1648.  He  took  no 
part  in  public  affairs  during  the  Commonwealth 

and  Protectorate.     In  the  spring  of  1660,  George 
254 


"TOM  OF  TEN  THOUSAND'' 

Monk — afterwards  the    Duke   of  Albemarle,  and 

the  husband  of  "  Nan  "  Clarges — was  invited,  with 

the    Earl    of    Manchester,    Sir    William    Waller, 

and  others  to  Northumberland  House,  and  here, 

"  in  secret  confidence  with  them,"  says  Clarendon, 

"some  of  those   measures   were  concerted  which 

led  to  the  speedy  restoration  of  the  Monarchy." 

Algernon  Percy,  who  was  a  privy  councillor  after 

the    Restoration,    died    in    1668.      His    son   and 

successor,  Josceline  Percy,  dying  in  1670,  without 

male  issue,  the  property  passed  to  his  daughter, 

the  Lady  Elizabeth  Percy  (1667-1722).     This  lady 

had  a  strange  matrimonial  career.     At  the  age  of 

twelve  she  was    "married"  to  Henry  Cavendish, 

Earl  of  Ogle  (son  and  heir  of  Henry,  Duke  of 

Newcastle),  but  he  died  in  his  youth.     Two  years 

later  —  that   is    to    say,    in    1681 — she    espoused 

Thomas  Thynne,  of  Longleat,  Wilts. 

Thynne,   who   was   nicknamed    "Tom   of   Ten 

Thousand,"  in  consequence  of  his  great  wealth,  was 

the  Issachar  of  Absalom  and  Achitophel.      Lady 

Elizabeth,   soon   after   the   death   of   Lord   Ogle, 

had  been  given  in  marriage  by  her  grandmother 

to  Thynne,  who,  however,  had  agreed,  on  account 

of  the  youth  of  his  bride,  that  the  marriage  should 

not  be   consummated   until   a  year   had   elapsed. 

The  lady,  however,  took  such  a  dislike  to  Thynne 

that  she  fled  for  protection  to  Lady  Temple  at  the 

Hague.      "  In  the  meantime,  the  famous  Count 
B  255 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Konigsmark — noted  for  his  beauty  and  intrigues 
in  most  of  the  Courts  of  Europe — had  accidentally 
met  Lady  Ogle  in  public,  and  had  either  fallen  in 
love  with  her  person,  or  with  the  vast  fortune  of 
which  she  was  the  mistress.  That  the  feeling  was 
reciprocal  there  is  not  the  least  reason  to  suppose. 
Konigsmark,  however,  equally  daring  and  un- 
principled, determined  by  foul,  if  not  by  fair 
means,  to  make  her  his  wife,  and,  as  the  first 
step,  projected  the  assassination  of  the  unfortunate 
Thynne.  The  persons  whom  he  hired  to  commit 
the  crime  were  three  foreigners  —  one  Captain 
Vratz,  a  German ;  a  Lieutenant  Stern,  a  Swede ; 
and  one  George  Borotski,  a  Pole.  The  two 
former  seem  to  have  been  as  daring  and  reckless 
adventurers  as  any  age  could  produce.  Borotski, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  a  quiet,  uneducated  man, 
who  appears  to  have  acted  entirely  from  a  feeling 
of  retainership,  without  any  thought  of  the  gold 
which  had  induced  his  accomplices  to  undertake 
to  commit  the  crime.  The  night  of  Sunday,  the 
12th  of  February  1682,  was  fixed  upon  for  the 
perpetration  of  the  foul  deed.  Accordingly,  having 
had  their  several  parts  assigned  to  them,  between 
seven  and  eight  o'clock  the  three  assassins,  mounted 
on  horseback,  posted  themselves  in  a  part  of  Pall 
Mall,  nearly  opposite  to  the  present  Opera  Colon- 
nade,  through   which    they   had    ascertained   the 

equipage  of  Thynne  was  likely  to  pass.  As  soon 
256 


LADY  ELIZABETH  PERCY 

as  the  coach  appeared  in  sight,  they  all  three  rode 
up  to  the  window,  and,  by  their  imposing  attitude, 
compelled  the  coachman  to  halt.  One  shot  only 
was  fired,  which  was  from  a  musketoon,  carried  by 
Borotski.  So  true,  however,  was  the  aim,  that  as 
many  as  five  bullets  entered  the  body  of  his  victim. 
Thynne  was  forthwith  carried  to  his  own  residence, 
where  he  lingered  till  about  six  o'clock  the  follow- 
ing morning,  when  he  expired."1  Konigsmark 
attempted  to  escape,  but  he  was  arrested  at 
Gravesend  at  the  very  moment  that  he  was 
about  to  set  foot  on  a  foreign  vessel.  He  was  im- 
mediately brought  to  trial,  and,  after  some  delay, 
acquitted.  His  accomplices  were  condemned  to 
death,  and,  on  March  10,  executed  in  Pall  Mall,  on 
the  spot  where  they  had  committed  the  atrocious 
crime.  Thynne  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
and  a  monument  in  white  marble,  representing  the 
tragedy  in  bas-relief,  was  erected  to  his  memory. 

Thus,  in  the  language  of  Lawrence  Echard, 
the  historian,  Lady  Elizabeth  Percy  had  been  a 
"virgin  widow"  twice  ere,  on  May  30,  1682 — at 
the  age  of  fifteen — she  became  a  wife.  Her  third 
husband  was  Charles  Seymour  (1662-1748),  the 
sixth  Duke  of  Somerset,  commonly  called  "the 
proud  duke."  By  an  arrangement  made  before 
the  marriage,  he  assumed  the  surname  and  arms  of 

1   The    Court    of   England    under   the   Stuarts,    Jesse,   vol.   iii., 
pp.  356-7. 

17  257 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

Percy,  "  but  from  that  stipulation  he  was  released 

when  her    grace    attained    her    majority."      The 

duke    and    duchess    lived   "in    great    state     and 

magnificence"   at   Northumberland    House.     The 

duchess   died   in   1722,   and   the   duke,   dying    in 

1748,  was  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son,  Algernon, 

Earl  of  Hertford  and  seventh  Duke  of  Somerset, 

who,  in  1749,  was  created  Baron   Warkworth   of 

Warkworth  Castle,  Northumberland,  and  Earl  of 

Northumberland,   with   remainder,   in    default    of 

male  issue,  to  Sir  Hugh  Smithson,  Bart.,  a  country 

gentleman   of  Stanwick,   in   Yorkshire,   who   had 

married   his   only   daughter,   the   Lady   Elizabeth 

Seymour.     Sir  Hugh  Smithson  was  raised  to  the 

dukedom    of  Northumberland   in   1766,   and   the 

title  remains  with  his  descendants  at  the  present 

day.     Algernon   Seymour    greatly  improved    the 

Strand  front  of  Northumberland  House,  and  built 

the    gallery,   or    great    room,   which   formed   the 

western  wing  of  the  south  side.     In  the  cornice,  or 

balustrading,  on  the  top  of  the  south  front  he  had 

inserted  the  letters  and  date:  A. S.P.N.  (Algernon 

Seymour  Princeps  Northumbrian),  a.d.  1749. 

Goldsmith  is   connected   with   Northumberland 

House  through  his  poem,  Edwin  and  Angelina. 

It  was  suggested  in  the  course  of  discussions  on 

ballads  with  Dr  Percy  (1729-1811),  editor  of  the 

famous  Reliques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry,  first 

published   in   1765.      Percy,   who   had    rooms    in 
258 


"EDWIN  AND  ANGELINA'' 

Northumberland  House,  was  visited  here  by 
Goldsmith,  and  one  result  of  this  acquaintanceship 
was  the  poem  in  question,  which  was  privately 
"Printed  for  the  amusement  of  the  Countess  of 
Northumberland."  Copies  of  this  edition  are 
extremely  rare,  and,  apart  from  their  scarcity, 
they  possess  an  independent  value  inasmuch  as 
they  show  Goldsmith's  painstaking  care  in  the 
preparation  of  his  verse.  By  comparing  this 
edition  with  subsequent  issues,  "  we  perceive  that 
even  the  gentle  opening  line  has  been  an  after- 
thought ;  that  four  stanzas  have  been  re- written ; 
and  that  the  two  which  originally  stood  last  have 
been  removed  altogether.  These,  for  their  simple 
beauty  of  expression,  it  is  worth  while  here  to 
preserve.  The  action  of  the  poem  having  closed 
without  them,  they  were,  on  better  consideration, 
rejected  ;  and  young  writers  should  study  and  make 
profit  of  such  lessons.  Posterity  has  always  too 
much  upon  its  hands  to  attend  to  what  is  irrelevant 
or  needless  ;  and  no  one  so  well  as  Goldsmith  seems 
to  have  known  that  the  writer  who  would  hope  to 
live  must  live  by  the  perfection  of  his  style,  and  by 
the  cherished  and  careful  beauty  of  unsuperfluous 
writing.1 

"  '  Here  amidst  sylvan  bowers  we'll  rove, 
From  lawn  to  woodland  stray  ; 
Blest  as  the  songsters  of  the  grove, 
And  innocent  as  they. 


1  Forster's  Goldsmith. 


259 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

To  all  that  >vant,  and  all  that  wail, 

Our  pity  shall  be  given  ; 
And  when  this  life  of  love  shall  fail. 

We'll  love  again  in  heaven.'" 

Goldsmith's  own  account  of  the  blunder  which 
he  made  on  the  occasion  of  one  of  his  visits  to  this 
old  mansion  is  as  follows : — "  I  dressed  myself  in 
the  best  manner  I  could,  and,  after  studying  some 
compliments  I  thought  necessary  on  such  an 
occasion,  proceeded  to  Northumberland  House, 
and  acquainted  the  servants  that  I  had  particular 
business  with  the  duke.  They  showed  me  into 
an  antechamber,  where,  after  waiting  some  time, 
a  gentleman,  very  elegantly  dressed,  made  his 
appearance.  Taking  him  for  the  duke,  I  delivered 
all  the  fine  things  I  had  composed,  in  order  to 
compliment  him  on  the  honour  he  had  done  me  ; 
when  to  my  fear  and  astonishment,  he  told  me  1 
had  mistaken  him  for  his  master,  who  would  see 
me  immediately.  At  that  instant  the  duke  came 
into  the  apartment,  and  I  was  so  confounded  on 
the  occasion  that  I  wanted  words  barely  sufficient 
to  express  the  sense  I  entertained  of  the  duke's 
politeness,  and  went  away  exceedingly  chagrined 
at  the  blunder  I  had  committed." 

To  Sir  John  Hawkins,  the  Middlesex  magistrate, 

who   drew   up   Johnson's   will,   and,   in    1787-89, 

published    Johnson's    Life    and    Works,   we    are 

indebted  for  a  description  of  another  meeting  with 
260 


OLIVER  GOLDSMITH 

the  Duke  of  Northumberland.  "  Having  one  day," 
he  says,  "  a  call  to  wait  on  the  late  Duke,  then 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  I  found  Goldsmith 
waiting  for  an  audience  in  an  outer  room  ;  I  asked 
him  what  had  brought  him  there :  he  told  me,  an 
invitation  from  his  lordship.  I  made  my  business 
as  short  as  I  could,  and,  as  a  reason,  mentioned 
that  Dr  Goldsmith  was  waiting  without.  The 
earl  asked  me  if  I  was  acquainted  with  him.  I 
told  him  I  was,  adding  what  I  thought  likely  to 
recommend  him.  I  retired,  and  staid  in  the  outer 
room  to  take  him  home.  Upon  his  coming  out, 
I  asked  him  the  result  of  his  conversation.  '  His 
lordship,'  says  he,  'told  me  he  had  red  (sic)  my 
poem,'  meaning  the  Traveller,  and  was  much 
delighted  with  it ;  that  he  was  going  lord- 
lieutenant  of  Ireland,  and  that,  hearing  that  I  was 
a  native  of  that  country,  he  should  be  glad  to  do 
me  any  kindness.'  'And  what  did  you  answer, 
asked  I,  to  this  gracious  offer  ? '  '  Why,'  said  he, 
'  I  could  say  nothing  but  that  I  had  a  brother 
there,  a  clergyman,  that  stood  in  need  of  help : 
as  for  myself  '  (this  was  added  for  the  benefit  of 
Hawkins),  "  '  I  have  no  dependence  on  the  promises 
of  great  men  :  I  look  to  the  booksellers  for  support ; 
they  are  my  best  friends,  and  I  am  not  inclined  to 
forsake  them  for  others.'  Thus,  adds  the  teller 
of  the  anecdote,  did  this  idiot  in  the  affairs  of  the 

world  trifle  with  his  fortunes,  and  put  back  the 

261 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

hand  that  was  held  out  to  assist  him  !  Other  offers 
of  a  like  kind  he  either  rejected  or  failed  to 
improve,  contenting  himself  with  the  patronage 
of  one  nobleman,  whose  mansion  afforded  him  the 
delights  of  a  splendid  table,  and  a  retreat  for  a  few 
days  from  the  metropolis." 

The  incident  thus  related,  says  Forster,  "may 
excuse  the  comment  attached  to  it.  Indeed,  the 
charge  of  idiotcy  in  the  affairs  of  the  Hawkins- 
world  may  even  add  to  the  pleasure  with  which  we 
contemplate  that  older-world  picture  beside  it, 
of  frank  simplicity  and  brotherly  affection.  This 
poor  poet,  who,  incomprehensibly  to  the  Middlesex 
magistrate,  would  thus  gently  have  turned  aside  to 
the  assistance  of  his  poorer  brother  the  hand  held 
out  to  assist  himself,  had  only  a  few  days  before 
been  obliged  to  borrow  fifteen  shillings  and  six- 
pence 'in  Fleet  Street,'  of  one  of  those  'best 
friends '  with  whose  support  he  is  now  fain  to  be 
contented."  The  duke  of  these  anecdotes  was  Sir 
Hugh  Smithson  (1715-1786),  the  first  Duke  of 
Northumberland  of  the  third  creation.  He  married, 
in  1774,  Elizabeth  Seymour,  the  heiress  of  the 
Percy  property. 

The  front  of  Northumberland  House  was  162 
feet  in  length,  the  court  being  81  feet  square. 
The  coping  along  the  Strand  front  "  was  a  border 
of  capital  letters,"  and,  at  the   funeral   of  Queen 

Anne  of  Denmark,  in  May  1619,  a  young  man  in 

262 


PERCYS  BOOKS  SAVED 

the  crowd  was  killed  by  the  letter  "  S,"  which  had 
been  pushed  off  by  the  too  eager  spectators  on  the 
roof.  There  were  many  famous  pictures  at  North- 
umberland House.  On  June  9,  1658,  Evelyn 
records  :  "  I  went  to  see  the  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land's pictures,  whereof  that  of  the  Venetian 
Senators  was  one  of  the  best  of  Titian's,  and 
another  of  Andrea  del  Sarto,  viz.,  a  Madona, 
Christ,  St  John,  and  an  Old  Woman,  etc.,  a  St 
Catherine  of  Da  Vinci,  with  divers  portraits  of  Van 
Dyke ;  a  Nativity  of  Georgioni  ;  the  last  of  our 
blessed  Kings  (Charles  I.)  and  the  Duke  of  York, 
by  Lely;  a  roserie  by  the  famous  Jesuits  of 
Bruxelles,  and  severall  more.  This  was  in  Suffolk 
House :  the  new  front  towards  the  gardens  is 
tollerable,  were  it  not  drown'd  by  a  too  massie  and 
clomsie  pair  of  stayres  of  stone,  without  any  neate 
invention." 

Fire  threatened  to  destroy  the  house  on  more 
than  one  occasion.  In  March,  1780,  an  outbreak 
occurred  about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  "and 
raged  till  eight,  in  which  time  it  burnt  from  the 
east  end,  where  it  began,  to  the  west.  Among 
the  apartments  consumed  are  those  of  Dr  Percy, 
Bishop  of  Carlisle.  We  are  happy  to  inform  our 
readers  that  the  greatest  part  of  the  doctor's 
invaluable  library  is  fortunately  preserved."  The 
famous   lion   which    delighted    Londoners    for    a 

century  and  a  quarter   was   placed   in   his   proud 

263 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

position  in  1752.  It  was  cast  in  lead,  from  a 
model  by  Carter,  and  was  twelve  feet  in  length. 
There  is  a  pleasant  fiction  to  the  effect  that  the 
noble  brute,  when  first  placed  upon  his  pedestal, 
had  his  head  towards  Carlton  House  and  St 
James's  Palace,  but  afterwards  upon  some  rebuff 
experienced  by  one  of  the  dukes  of  Northum- 
berland turned  his  face  towards  the  city  of 
London.  The  lion  was  subsequently  removed  to 
Syon  House,  Isleworth,  the  Middlesex  seat  of  the 
Northumberlands.  "  The  vestibule  of  the  interior 
was  eighty-two  feet  long,  and  more  than  twelve 
feet  in  breadth,  ornamented  with  Doric  columns. 
Each  end  communicated  with  a  staircase,  leading 
to  the  principal  apartments  facing  the  garden  and 
the  Thames.  They  consisted  of  several  spacious 
rooms  fitted  up  in  the  most  elegant  manner, 
embellished  with  paintings,  among  which  might 
be  found  the  well-known  *  Cornaro  Family,'  by 
Titian,  a  work  well  worthy  of  its  reputation,  and 
for  which  Algernon,  Earl  of  Northumberland,  is 
stated  to  have  given  Vandyck  1000  guineas,  and 
a  wonderful  vase,  which  now  has  a  story  of  its 
own  ;  '  St  Sebastian  Bound,'  by  Guercino  ;  '  The 
Adoration  of  the  Shepherds,'  by  Bassano ;  and 
others  by  well-known  masters.  The  great  feature 
of  the  house  was  the  ball-room,  or  grand  gallery, 
upwards   of  100   feet   in   length,   in   which    were 

placed  large  and  very  fine  copies  by  Mengs,  after 
264 


NORTHUMBERLAND  AVENUE 

Raphael's  '  School  of  Athens,'  in  the  Vatican,  of 
the  size  of  the  originals ;  also  the  '  Assembly  of 
the  Gods,'  and  the  'Marriage  of  Cupid  and 
Psyche,'  in  the  Farnesina ;  the  '  Triumph  of 
Bacchus  and  Ariadne,'  from  Caracci's  picture  in 
the  Farnese  Palace ;  and  '  Apollo  driving  the 
Chariot  of  the  Sun,'  from  Reni's  fresco  in  the 
Villa  Rospigliosi,  at  Rome.  These  celebrated 
works,  and  the  decoration  of  the  noble  apartment, 
constituted  it  one  of  the  landmarks  of  high  art  in 
the  metropolis.  The  grand  staircase  consisted  of  a 
centre  flight  of  thirteen  moulded  vein  marble  steps, 
and  two  flights  of  sixteen  steps,  with  centre 
landing  twenty-two  feet  by  six  feet,  two  circular 
plinths,  and  a  handsome  and  richly-gilt  ormolu 
scroll  balustrade,  with  moulded  Spanish  mahogany 
hand-rail.  The  mansion  contained  nearly  150 
rooms  for  the  private  use  of  the  family."1 

The  destruction  of  Northumberland  House  was 
due  to  the  necessity  of  a  direct  thoroughfare  from 
Charing  Cross  to  the  Embankment.  As  early  as 
1866,  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works — the 
predecessor  of  the  London  County  Council — had 
perceived  the  need,  and  had  suggested  a  new 
street  through  the  site  of  Northumberland  House 
and  its  grounds.  "  The  Duke  of  Northumberland 
of  that  day,  however,  set  his  face  determinedly 
against  any  interference  with  his  ancestral  mansion, 

1   Old  and  New  London,  vol.  iii.,  p.  1 10. 

265 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

and  his  opposition  received  much  support  from 
members  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  from 
those  who  looked  with  disfavour  on  a  proposal  to 
destroy  the  last  of  the  palaces  of  the  English 
nobles  which  three  centuries  ago  stood  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Strand  now  occupied  by  the 
streets  leading  from  it  to  the  river.  The  Metro- 
politan Board  was  forced  to  yield  to  the  resistance 
which  then  and  for  several  years  after  was  offered 
to  every  attempt  to  get  power  to  take  Northumber- 
land House.  Eventually  the  necessities  of  the 
case  were  so  strongly  pressed  that  further  resist- 
ance was  abandoned,  and  the  Board  having, 
in  1872,  learned  that  the  present  Duke  of 
Northumberland  was  willing  to  sell  his  property, 
an  agreement  was  in  the  year  1873  concluded  and 
ratified  by  Parliament,  under  which  the  Board 
acquired  his  Grace's  property  upon  payment  of 
£500,000,  the  Board  at  the  same  time  obtaining 
power  to  make  the  new  street." x  The  opposition 
of  the  owner  of  Northumberland  House  to  the 
destruction  of  this  historical  property  was  natural 
enough,  and  many  otherwise  uninterested  persons 
lamented  the  proposed  demolition.  The  Duke  of 
Northumberland — the  sixth  duke  of  his  creation 
—writing  in  1866,  said:  "The  Duke  of  North- 
umberland  is   naturally   desirous   that   this    great 

1  London    in    the    Reign    of   Victoria,    G.    Laurence    Gomme, 
pp.   156-7. 
266 


"  DEGRADATION  " 

historical  house,  commenced  by  a  Howard,  con- 
tinued by  a  Percy,  and  completed  by  a  Seymour, 
which  has  been  the  residence  of  his  ancestors  for 
two  centuries  and  a  half,  should  continue  to  be  the 
residence  of  his  descendants  ;  but  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works  are  desirous  that  this  house, 
which,  with  its  garden,  is  one  of  the  landmarks  of 
London,  and  is  probably  the  oldest  residential 
house  in  the  metropolis,  should  be  destroyed." 

The  sale  was  concluded  in  June,  1874,  and,  in 
September  and  October  of  that  year,  "  the  fine  old 
mansion  underwent  its  final  stage  of  degradation." 
Its  materials  were  sold  by  auction.  The  lots 
consisted  of  3,000,000  bricks,  the  grand  marble 
staircase,  the  elaborate  ornamentation  of  the 
various  apartments  and  corridors,  and  lead  to  the 
weight  of  400  tons.  The  sale  realised  but  £6500, 
and  of  this  sum  the  great  staircase — subsequently 
removed  to  No.  49  Prince's  Gate — brought  £360. 
Some  of  the  pictures  had  been  removed  to  Alnwick 
Castle,  Northumberland,  others  to  the  ducal  town 
residence,  No.  2  Grosvenor  Place.  "  The  progress 
of  wealth  and  luxury,"  said  a  writer  in  the  Standard 
at  the  time  of  the  projected  demolition,  "  has  long 
since  dimmed  the  splendours  of  what  was  once  the 
proudest  of  the  London  houses  of  the  English 
nobility.  The  march  of  fashion  westward  had  left 
it  isolated  amidst  an   uncongenial   neighbourhood 

of  small   shops.      Commerce   had    overtaken   and 

267 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

overwhelmed  it,  so  that  it  stood  somewhat 
abruptly  in  the  full  stream  of  London  life,  making 
it  too  violent  a  contrast  with  the  surrounding 
houses,  and  destroying  whatever  of  felicity  there 
might  have  been  in  the  situation.  In  the  days 
when  the  Strand  was  but  a  road  between  London 
and  Westminster,  lined  with  private  houses  of  the 
great  and  noble  on  either  side,  and  with  gardens 
going  down  to  the  river,  it  might  have  been  an 
abode  fit  even  for  the  proud  Earls  of  Northumber- 
land, to  whom  it  descended.  But  with  the 
Thames  Embankment  on  one  side,  and  Trafalgar 
Square  on  the  other,  with  omnibuses  perpetually 
passing  its  front  door,  Northumberland  House  was 
a  standing  anachronism,  if  not  an  impediment, 
which  was  destined  to  succumb  to  the  influence  of 
time  and  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works."  It 
may  be  added  that  during  the  Great  Exhibition 
of  1851,  the  public  were  admitted  by  ticket  to 
view  the  house  at  the  rate  of  ten  thousand  a  week. 
Northumberland  Avenue  was  opened  in  March, 
1876.  It  is  950  feet  long  and  84  feet  wide,  the 
width  between  the  pavements  being  60  feet.  The 
Strand  portion  of  the  house  is  marked  by  the 
Grand  Hotel,  the  opening  of  which,  in  1880,  was 
considered  of  so  much  importance  that  its  initia- 
tion was  attended  by  the  Lord  Mayor  of  the  City 
of  London,  who  was  accompanied  by  the  sheriffs. 

Two  other  of  the  Gordon  hotels  in  this  Avenue, 
268 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

the  Metropole  and  Victoria,  opened  in  1885  and 
1887  respectively,  indicate  the  site  of  the  extensive 
gardens  of  Northumberland  House.  The  hand- 
some building  of  the  Constitutional  Club,  the 
offices  of  the  Royal  Colonial  Institute,  and  the 
headquarters  of  the  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge,  are  also  in  Northumberland 
Avenue. 

Craven  Street,  which  still  retains  much  of  its 
old-world  air,  is  chiefly  notable  for  the  fact  that 
Benjamin  Franklin  lived  here,  at  No.  7,  at  the 
house  of  Mrs  Margaret  Stevenson,  during  the 
entire  period  of  his  visits  to  London  as  agent  for 
the  House  of  Assembly,  Philadelphia,  and  "  other 
provinces."  Leigh  Hunt,  speaking  of  this  circum- 
stance, says  :  "  What  a  change  along  the  shores 
of  the  Thames  in  a  few  years  (for  two  centuries 
are  less  than  two  years  in  the  lapse  of  time),  from 
the  residence  of  a  set  of  haughty  nobles,  who  never 
dreamt  that  a  tradesman  could  be  anything  but 
a  tradesman,  to  that  of  a  yeoman's  son,  and  a 
printer,  who  was  one  of  the  founders  of  a  great 
state ! "  He  was  visited  here  in  February,  1755, 
by  William  Pitt  (the  first  Earl  of  Chatham,  1708- 
1788),  and,  wrote  Franklin,  "  He  stayed  with  me 
near  two  hours,  his  equipage  waiting  at  the  door." 
The  house,  which  is  marked  by  a  tablet,  is  now  a 
private  hotel. 

Mark   Akenside,   the   poet   and  physician,   was 

269 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

visited  in  this  street,  on  January  22,  1761 — at 
which  time  he  was  physician  to  Queen  Charlotte — 
by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds.  Heinrich  Heine,  during 
his  stay  in  England,  April  23  to  August  8,  1827, 
lodged  at  No.  32  Craven  Street.  A  notorious 
resident  of  this  street  was  James  Hackman  (1752- 
1779),  incumbent  of  Wiveton,  Norfolk.  He  fell 
in  love  with  Martha  Ray,  who  was  the  mother  of 
nine  children,  of  whom  Lord  Sandwich  was  the 
father.  His  passion  was  so  great  that,  as  the  lady 
would  not  marry  him,  he  shot  her  dead  on  the 
night  of  April  7,  1779,  in  the  piazza  of  Co  vent 
Garden  Theatre.  He  turned  the  pistol  upon  him- 
self, but  without  fatal  effect.  He  was  hanged  at 
Tyburn  twelve  days  later. 

A  more  interesting  resident  was  James  Smith, 
one  of  the  authors  of  the  Rejected  Addresses,  who 
lived  for  many  years  at  No.  27,  where  he  died 
on  December  24,  1839.  This  remarkable  literary 
character,  the  son  of  a  solicitor  to  the  Ordnance, 
was  born  in  1775.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  he 
had  made  his  mark  in  Fleet  Street,  and,  from  1807 
to  1817,  the  articles  to  the  Monthly  Mirror  en- 
titled "  Horace  in  London  "  were  written  by  him. 
In  1812,  with  his  younger  brother,  Horatio,  he 
published  the  Rejected  Addresses,  in  which  Words- 
worth, Southey,  Coleridge,  Lord  Byron,  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  and  other  writers  were  parodied  with  admir- 
able felicity.  He  wrote  many  of  the  "  Entertain- 
270 


JAMES  SMITH 

ments  "  for  Charles  Mathews  the  Elder,  including 
Country  Cousins  in  1820,  and  the  Trip  to  France 
and  the  Trip  to  America  in  the  two  succeeding 
years.  For  the  last  two  sketches  he  received  a 
thousand  pounds.  "  A  thousand  pounds  ! ':  he 
used  to  exclaim,  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders, 
"  and  all  for  nonsense." 1  "  He  was  lucky  enough 
to  obtain  a  legacy  of  £300  for  a  complimentary 
epigram  on  Mr  Strachan,  the  King's  printer.  Being 
patted  on  the  head  when  a  boy  by  Chief-Justice 
Mansfield,  in  Highgate  churchyard,  and  once 
seeing  Horace  Walpole  on  his  lawn  at  Twicken- 
ham, were  the  two  chief  historical  events  of  Mr 
Smith's  quiet  life.  The  four  reasons  that  kept  so 
clever  a  man  employed  on  mere  amateur  trifling 
were  these — an  indolent  disinclination  to  sustained 
work,  a  fear  of  failure,  a  dislike  to  risk  a  well- 
earned  fame,  and  a  foreboding  that  literary  success 
might  injure  his  practice  as  a  lawyer.  His 
favourite  visits  were  to  Lord  Mulgrave's,  Mr 
Croker's,  Lord  Abinger's,  Lady  Blessington's,  and 
Lord  Harrington's.  Pretty  Lady  Blessington 
used  to  say  of  him,  that  "  James  Smith,  if  he  had 
not  been  a  witty  man,  must  have  been  a  gi~eat 
man.  He  died  in  his  house  in  Craven  Street, 
with  the  calmness  of  a  philosopher,  on  the  24th  of 
December,  1839,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age."2 

1  Memoirs  of  James  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  32. 

2  Haunted  London,  pp.  140-141. 

271 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

It  was  on  his  own  street  that  he  wrote  the  well- 
known  epigram : 

"  In  Craven  Street,  Strand,  ten  attorneys  find  place, 
And  ten  dark  coal-barges  are  moor'd  at  its  base ; 
Fly,  Honesty,  fly  !  seek  some  safer  retreat, 
For  there's  craft  in  the  river,  and  craft  in  the  street." l 

This  satire  led  to  a  retort  by  Sir  George  Rose, 
the  judge  and  well-known  legal  writer,  in  ex- 
temporaneous lines  written  at  a  dinner : 

"  Why  should  Honesty  fly  to  some  safer  retreat, 
From  attorneys  and  barges  ? — 'od  rot  'em  ! — 
For  the  lawyers  are  just  at  the  top  of  the  street, 
And  the  barges  are  just  at  the  bottom." 

Lawyers  still  have  their  offices  in  Craven  Street, 
but  the  coal-barges  vanished  in  1876.  A  few  doors 
from  James  Smith's,  in  the  house  on  the  left-hand 
side  from  the  Strand,  there  lodged,  in  1885,  the 
celebrated  American  comedian,  John  Sleeper 
Clarke  (1834-1899).  His  rooms  overlooked  the 
back  of  what  was  then  the  Avenue  Theatre.  This 
house,  opened  on  March  11,  1882,  was  rebuilt  by 
Mr  Cyril  Maude,  and,  on  the  eve  of  its  re-opening, 
December  5,  1905,  it  was  destroyed  by  the  fall  of 
the  roof  of  Charing  Cross  Station.  Again  rebuilt 
by  Mr  Maude,  it  was  opened,  on  January  28,  1907, 
as  the  Playhouse.  The  theatrical  associations  of 
this  part  of  London  are,  indeed,  like  Mr  Weller's 
knowledge  of  London,  "  extensive  and  peculiar." 

1  Gothic  Miscellanies,  James  Smith,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1 86. 
272 


Appendix 


SAMUEL  PEPYS  AND  THE  ADELPHI 

January  81,  1668. — Up,  and  by  coach,  with  W.  Griffin 
with  me,  and  our  Contract-books,  to  Durham  Yard  to  the 
Commissioners  for  Accounts.     [See  page  37.] 

May  10,  1668. — From  church  home  with  my  Lady  Pen ; 
and  after  being  there  an  hour  or  so  talking,  I  took  her  .... 
and  old  Mrs  Whistler,  her  mother-in-law,  by  water  .... 
as  far  as  Chelsy,  and  so  back  to  Spring  Garden  ....  and 
so  to  water  again,  and  set  down  the  old  woman  at  home 
at  Durham  Yard. 

April  26,  1669. — I  am  told  by  Betty,  who  was  all  un- 
dressed, of  a  great  fire  happened  in  Durham  Yard  last  night, 
burning  the  house  of  one  Lady  Hungerford.     [See  page  38.] 


February  11, 1660. — My  wife  and  I  .  .  .  .  went  out  again 
to  show  her  the  fires,  and  after  walking  as  far  as  the  Exchange, 
we  returned  and  to  bed. 

March  12,  1660. — My  wife  and  I  to  the  Exchange,  where 
we  bought  a  great  many  things. 

July  7,  1660. — Thence  to  the  'Change,  where  I  bought 
two  fine  prints  of  Ragotti  from  Rubens. 

July  18,  1660. — After  a  little  stay  we  all  went  by  water 

to  Westminster  as  far  as  the  New  Exchange. 

18  273 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPH1 

September  3,  1660. — Up  and  to  Mr  ,  the  goldsmith, 

near  the  New  Exchange. 

September  22,  1660. — From  thence  by  coach  home  (by 
the  way,  at  the  new  Exchange  I  bought  a  pair  of  short  black 
stockings  to  wear  over  a  pair  of  silk  ones  for  mourning  ....). 

November  12,  1660. — Mr  Comptroller  and  I  sat  a  while 
at  the  office  to  do  business,  ....  and  from  thence  by 
coach  (setting  down  his  sister  at  the  New  Exchange)  to 
Westminster  Hall. 

April  20,  1661.— With  Mr  Creed  to  the  Exchange  and 
bought  some  things,  as  gloves  and  bandstrings,  etc. 

September  2,  1661. — My  wife  ....  met  at  the  'Change 
with  my  young  ladies  of  the  Wardrobe,  and  there  helped 
them  to  buy  things. 

March  24,  1662. — Thence  by  water  to  the  New  Exchange. 
.  .  .  Thence  at  the  New  Exchange  and  so  home. 

April  15,  1662. — With  my  wife,  by  coach,  to  the  New 
Exchange,  to  buy  her  some  things ;  where  we  saw  some  new- 
fashion  pettycoats  of  Sarcenett,  with  a  black  broad  lace 
printed  round  the  bottom  and  before,  very  handsome,  and  my 
wife  had  a  mind  to  one  of  them,  but  we  did  not  then  buy  one. 

October  7,  1662. — So  towards  the  New  Exchange,  and 
there  while  my  wife  was  buying  things  I  walked  up  and  down. 

January  12,  1663. — After  dinner  to  the  'Change  to  buy 
some  linen  for  my  wife. 

February  26,  1663. — From  the  New  Exchange  home  to 
the  Tower. 

April  10,  1663. — Then  to  my  Lord's  lodgings,  met  my 
wife  and  walked  to  the  New  Exchange.  There  laid  out  10s. 
upon  pendents  and  painted  leather  gloves,  very  pretty  and 
all  the  mode. 

May  4,  1663.— She  and  I  to  Mr  Creed  to  the  Exchange, 
where  she  bought  something. 

May  7,  1663.— Up  ....  with  my  wife,  leaving  her  at 
the  New  Exchange. 
274 


SAMUEL  PEPYS 

May  30,  1663. — Creed  and  I  .  .  .  .  walked  to  the  New 
Exchange,  and  there  drank  our  morning  draught  of  whey, 
the  first  I  have  done  this  year. 

June  12,  1663. — So  to  the  Exchange,  to  buy  things  with 
my  wife ;  among  others  a  vizard  for  herself. 

August  24,  1663. — Walked  to  the  New  Exchange,  and 
there  drank  some  whey. 

August  29,  1663. — Thence  to  my  wife,  and  calling  at  both 
the  Exchanges,  buying  stockings  for  her  and  myself. 

October  5,  1663. — So  to  the  New  Exchange,  and  there 
met  Creed. 

October  12,  1663.— To  the  Old  Exchange,  and  there 
cheapened  some  laces  for  my  wife.  ...  I  was  resolved  to 
buy  one  worth  wearing  with  credit,  and  so  to  the  New 
Exchange,  and  there  put  it  to  making. 

October  14,  1663. — So  to  fetch  my  wife,  and  so  to  the 
New  Exchange  about  her  things. 

October  16,  1663. — Then  to  the  Exchange  and  to  several 
places. 

October  19,  1663. — Took  up  my  wife  at  Mrs  Harper's 
....  and  so  called  at  the  New  Exchange  for  some  things 
for  her. 

October  21,  1663. — I  to  the  Exchange.  .  .  .  From  my 
brother's  with  my  wife  to  the  Exchange,  to  buy  things  for 
her  and  myself,  I  being  in  the  humour  of  laying  out  money, 
but  not  prodigally,  but  only  in  clothes,  which  I  every  day 
see  that  I  suffer  for  want  of. 

October  30,  1663. — Then  by  coach  with  my  wife  to  the 
New  Exchange,  and  there  bought  and  paid  for  several  things. 

November  4,  1663. — I  to  the  New  Exchange  and  several 
places  to  buy  and  bring  home  things. 

November  19,  1663. — Thence  with  Sir  G.  Carteret  by 
coach,  and  he  set  me  down  at  the  New  Exchange. 

January  9,  1664. — I  took  coach  and  called  my  wife  and 
her  mayd,  and  so  to  the  New  Exchange,  where  we  bought 

275 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

several  things  of  our  pretty  Mrs  Dorothy  Stacy,  a  pretty 
woman,  and  has  the  modestest  look  that  ever  I  saw  in 
my  life. 

February  1, 1664. — I  hear  how  two  men  last  night,  justling 
for  the  wall  about  the  New  Exchange,  did  kill  one  another, 
each  thrusting  the  other  through  ;  one  of  them  of  the  King's 
Chappel,  one  Cave,  and  the  other  a  retayner  of  my  Lord 
Generall  Middleton's. 

February  13,  1664. — Walked  to  the  New  Exchange,  and 
after  a  turn  or  two  and  talked,  I  took  coach  and  home. 

Aprill,  1664. — Setting  my  wife  down  at  the  New  Exchange, 
I  to  White  Hall.  ...  So  with  Creed  to  the  'Change,  and 
there  took  up  my  wife  and  left  him. 

April  6,  1664. — Bought  a  pretty  silke  for  a  petticoate  for 
my  wife,  and  thence  set  her  down  at  the  New  Exchange. 
.  .  .  To  the  'Change  for  my  wife. 

April  9,  1664. — With  my  wife  by  coach  to  her  Tailor's 
and  the  New  Exchange. 

April  26,  1664. — So  walked  to  the  New  Exchange,  and 
there  had  a  most  delicate  dish  of  curds  and  creame,  and 
discourse  with  the  good  woman  of  the  house.  .  .  .  Thence 
up,  and  after  a  turn  or  two  in  the  'Change,  home  to  the 
Old  Exchange. 

May  9, 1664. — After  dinner,  in  Sir  W.  Pen's  coach  ;  he  set 
my  wife  and  I  down  at  the  New  Exchange,  and  after  buying 
some  things,  we  walked  to  my  Lady  Sandwich's. 

May  21,  1664. — So  abroad  with  my  wife  by  coach  to  the 
New  Exchange,  and  there  laid  out  almost  40s.  upon  her. 

June  21,  1664. —  So  to  the  New  Exchange,  meeting  Mr 
Moore,  and  he  with  us. 

June  22,  1664. — At  noon  to  the  'Change  and  coffee-house. 

July  7,  1664. — Thence  to  the  New  Exchange  to  drink 
some  creame,  but  missed  it. 

August  11,  1664. — However,  abroad,  carried  my  wife  to 
buy  things  at  the  New  Exchange. 
276 


SAMUEL  PEPYS 

September  12,  1664. — So  I  to  Mr  Creed's  lodgings,  and 
with  him  walked  up  and  down  in  the  New  Exchange,  talking 
mightily  of  the  convenience  and  necessity  of  a  man's  wearing 
good  clothes,  and  so  after  eating  a  messe  of  creame,  I  took 
leave  of  him. 

January  16,  1665. — Povy  and  I  walked  together  as  far  as 
the  New  Exchange,  and  so  parted. 

January  20,  1665. — Abroad  with  my  wife  about  several 
businesses,  and  met  at  the  New  Exchange,  and  there  to  our 
trouble  found  our  pretty  Doll  is  gone  away. 

March  9,  1665. — Abroad  with  my  wife,  left  her  at  the 
New  Exchange. 

May  12,  1665. — Thence  called  my  wife  at  Unthanke1s  to 
the  New  Exchange  and  elsewhere  to  buy  a  lace  band  for  me, 
but  we  did  not  buy. 

June  7, 1665. — We  to  the  New  Exchange,  and  there  drank 
whey,  with  much  entreaty  getting  it  for  our  money,  and 
(they)  would  not  be  entreated  to  let  us  have  one  glasse  more. 

July  11, 1665. — Had  Mary  meet  me  at  the  New  Exchange. 

March  10,  1666. — To  the  New  Exchange,  and  there  I  did 
give  my  valentine,  Mrs  Pierce,  a  dozen  payre  of  gloves,  and 
a  payre  of  silke  stockings. 

April  18,  1666. — Thence  to  the  Exchange,  that  is,  the 
New  Exchange,  and  looked  over  some  play  books,  and  intend 
to  get  all  the  late  new  plays. 

April  20,  1666. — To  the  New  Exchange,  there  to  get  a 
list  of  all  the  modern  plays,  which  I  intend  to  collect  and 
to  have  them  bound  up  together. 

May  4,  1666. — To  the  New  Exchange  about  play  books. 

May  14,  1666. — I  left  my  wife  at  the  New  Exchange. 
.  .  .  At  the  New  Exchange  took  up  my  wife  again. 

May  23,  1666. — After  dinner  Creed  and  I  and  wife  and 
Mercer  out  by  coach,  leaving  them  at  the  New  Exchange. 

May  29,  1666. — Set  Mrs  Pierce  in  at  the  New  Exchange. 

June  6,  1666. — Away  go  I  by  coach  to  the  New  Exchange. 

277 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

June  17,  1666. — Wanting  a  coach  to  carry  us  home  I 
walked  out  as  far  as  the  New  Exchange  to  find  one,  but 
could  not.  So  downe  to  the  Milke-house,  and  drank  three 
glasses  of  whey,  and  then  up  into  the  Strand  again. 

July  17,  1666. — I  did  take  my  wife  out  to  the  New 
Exchange  to  buy  things. 

August  8,  1666. — I  met  with  Mrs  Burroughs  by  appoint- 
ment, and  did  agree  ....  for  her  to  meet  me  at  the  New 
Exchange,  while  I  by  coach  to  my  Lord  Treasurer's,  and 
then  called  at  the  New  Exchange,  and  thence  carried  her 
by  water  to  Parliament  stayres. 

August  21,  1666. — Dined  at  home  and  sister  Baity  with 
us.  My  wife  snappish  because  I  denied  her  money  to  lay 
out  this  afternoon  ;  however,  good  friends  again,  and  by 
coach  set  them  down  at  the  New  Exchange. 

September  7,  1666. — So  to  Creed's  lodging,  near  the  New 
Exchange,  and  there  find  him  laid  down  upon  a  bed ;  the 
house  all  unfurnished,  there  being  fears  of  the  fire's  coming 
to  them.     [See  page  39.] l 

1  This  was  the  Great  Fire  which  destroyed  nearly  every 
building  of  importance  in  the  City,  including  one  hundred  and 
seven  churches  and  the  Royal  Exchange.  The  second  Royal 
Exchange  was  opened  on  September  28,  1669.  The  recorded 
visits  of  Pepys  to  the  New  Exchange  ended  in  April,  1669. 
Pepys  was  then  busy  with  state  affairs,  and  his  eyesight  was 
failing.  On  the  latter  account  he  brought  the  Diary  to  a 
close  on  May  31  of  that  year.  Of  course,  he  may  have  visited 
the  New  Exchange  after  the  last  entry  recorded  in  his  Diary. 
Indeed,  it  is  probable  that  he  did  so.  When  we  consider  what 
enjoyment  he  derived  from  his  various  meetings  here,  from  his 
purchases  of  play-books  and  silk  stockings,  and  from  his  drink- 
ing of  whey,  the  last  words  in  his  Diary  become  doubly  pathetic  : 
"  And  thus  ends  all  that  I  doubt  I  shall  ever  be  able  to  do  with 
my  own  eyes  in  the  keeping  of  my  Journall,  I  being  not  able  to  do 
it  any  longer,  having  done  now  so  long  as  to  undo  my  eyes  almost 
every  time  that  I  take  a  pen  in  my  hand  ;  and  therefore,  what- 

278 


SAMUEL  PEPYS 

September  11,  1666. — So  with  Sir  W.  Batten  to  the  New 
Exchange  by  water. 

October  27,  1666. — I  took  them  out  to  the  New  Exchange, 
and  there  my  wife  bought  things,  and  I  did  give  each  of 
them  a  pair  of  jessimy  plain  gloves  and  another  of  white. 

November  12,  1666. — So  great  a  stop  there  was  at  the 
New  Exchange,  that  we  could  not  pass  in  half  an  houre, 
and  therefore  light  and  bought  a  little  matter  at  the 
Exchange,  and  then  home. 

November  26,  1666. — Among  others  with  Mrs  Burroughs, 
whom  I  appointed  to  meet  me  at  the  New  Exchange  in 
the  afternoon.  ...  I  took  coach  to  the  New  Exchange.  .  .  . 
Having  staid  as  long  as  I  thought  fit  for  meeting  of  Burroughs, 
I  away  and  to  the  'Change  again,  and  there  I  do  not  find 
her  now. 

December  31,  1666. — I  did  take  money  and  walk  forth  to 
several  places  in  the  towne  as  far  as  the  New  Exchange,  to 
pay  all  my  debts.  .  .  .  Thence  to  the  New  Exchange  to  clear 
my  wife's  score. 

January  23,  1667. — To  the  New  Exchange,  there  to  take 
up  my  wife  and  Mercer. 

January  25,  1667. — I  away  by  coach  with  my  wife,  and 
left  her  at  the  New  Exchange. 

February  5, 1667. — Thence  by  coach  to  the  New  Exchange, 
and  there  laid  out  money,  and  I  did  give  Betty  Michell  two 
pair  of  gloves  and  a  dressing-box. 

ever  comes  of  it,  I  must  forbear :  and  therefore  resolve,  from 
this  time  forward,  to  have  it  kept  by  my  people  in  long-hand, 
and  must  be  contented  to  set  down  no  more  than  is  fit  for  them 
and  all  the  world  to  know  ;  or  if  there  be  anything,  I  must 
endeavour  to  keep  a  margin  in  my  book  open,  to  add  here  and 
there  a  note  in  short-hand  with  my  own  hand,  and  so  I  betake 
myself  to  that  course,  which  is  almost  as  much  as  to  see  myself 
go  into  my  grave :  for  which,  and  all  the  discomforts  that  will 
accompany  my  being  blind,  the  good  God  prepare  me  ! " 

279 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

February  11,  1667. — My  Lord  carried  me  and  set  me  down 
at  the  New  Exchange,  where  I  stayed  at  Pottle's  shop  till 
Betty  Michell  come. 

February  14,  1667. — Thence  away  by  coach  to  Sir  H. 
Cholmly  and  Fitzgerald  and  Creed,  setting  down  the  two 
latter  at  the  New  Exchange. 

March  9,  1667. — Carried  Mrs  Pierce  and  wife  to  the  New 
Exchange,  and  there  did  give  her  and  myself  a  pair  of  gloves. 

March  13,  1667. — Sent  my  wife  to  the  New  Exchange. 

March  20,  1667. — So  to  the  New  Exchange,  where  I  find 
my  wife. 

April  5,  1667. — So  by  coach  to  the  New  Exchange  and 
Mercer's. 

April  17,  1667. — My  wife  being  sent  for  by  me  to  the 
New  Exchange,  I  took  her  up,  and  there  to  the  King's 
playhouse. 

April  25,  1667. — Thence  by  coach  to  my  Lord  Treasurer's, 
and  there  being  come  too  soon  to  the  New  Exchange,  but 
did  nothing. 

May  13,  1667. — I  away  to  the  New  Exchange,  and  there 
staid  a  little. 

July  5,  1667. — To  the  New  Exchange  to  buy  gloves  and 
other  little  errands. 

July  13,  1667. — After  dinner  my  wife  and  I  to  the  New 
Exchange,  to  pretty  maid  Mrs  Smith's  shop,  where  I  left 
my  wife.  ...  I  home  by  coach,  taking  up  my  wife  at 
the  Exchange. 

July  17,  1667. — Then  by  coach,  set  my  wife  down  at  the 
New  Exchange. 

July  26,  1667. — I  then  abroad  with  my  wife  and  left  her 
at  the  New  Exchange. 

August  10,  1667. — To  the  New  Exchange,  to  the  book- 
sellers there,  where  I  hear  of  several  new  books  coming  out. 

August  12,  1667. — Then  walked  to  the  New  Exchange, 
and  there  to  my  bookseller's,  and  did  buy  Scott's  Discourse 
280 


SAMUEL  PEPYS 

of  Witches.  .  .  .  Thence  I  to  the  printseller's  over  against 
the  Exchange  towards  Covent  Garden,  and  there  bought  a 
few  more  prints  of  cittys. 

August  16,  1667. — Thence  to  the  New  Exchange  with  my 
wife,  where  at  my  bookseller's  I  saw  The  History  of  the 
Royall  Society,  which,  I  believe,  is  a  fine  book,  and  have 
bespoke  one  in  quires. 

August  20, 1667. — Thence,  with  my  Lord  Brouncker  to  the 
Duke's  Playhouse  (telling  my  wife  so  at  the  'Change,  where 
I  left  her). 

August  21,  1667. — My  wife  and  I  mighty  pleasant  abroad, 
she  to  the  New  Exchange,  and  I  to  the  Commissioners  of 
the  Treasury. 

August  27,  1667. — My  wife  and  I,  with  Sir  W.  Pen,  to 
the  New  Exchange,  set  her  down.  .  .  .  Having  done  here, 
I  to  the  Exchange,  and  there  find  my  wife  gone  with  Sir 
W.  Pen. 

September  16,  1667. — So  parted  at  the  New  Exchange, 
where  I  staid  reading  Mrs  Phillips1  poems  till  my  wife  and 
Mercer  called  me. 

October  2,  1667. — Then  by  coach  to  the  New  Exchange, 
and  there  met  my  wife  and  girl. 

October  28,  1667. — Calling  at  the  New  Exchange,  and 
there  buying  The  Indian  Emperour,  newly  printed. 

January  2,  1668. — I  took  my  wife  and  her  girl  out  to  the 
New  Exchange,  and  there  my  wife  bought  herself  a  lace  for  a 
handkercher,  which  I  do  give  her,  of  about  J?3,  for  a  new 
year's  gift,  and  I  did  buy  also  a  lace  for  a  band  for  myself. 

January  17,  1668. — So  home,  and  there  alone  with  my 
wife  and  Deb.  to  dinner,  and  after  dinner  comes  Betty 
Turner,  and  I  carried  them  to  the  New  Exchange. 

February  21,  1668. — Thence  with  Lord  Brouncker  and 
T.  Harvey  as  far  as  the  New  Exchange. 

February  25,  1668. — Thence  set  my  wife  at  the  New 
Exchange,  and  I  to  Mr  Clerke,  my  solicitor  ....  so  I  by 

281 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

water  with  him  to  the  New  Exchange  and  there  we  parted, 
and  I  took  my  wife  and  Deb.  up,  and  to  the  nursery.  .  .  . 
Thence  to  the  New  Exchange,  to  take  some  things  home  that 
my  wife  hath  bought,  a  dressing-box  and  other  things  for  her 
chamber  and  table,  that  cost  me  above  £4*. 

April  9,  1668. — I  to  the  New  Exchange,  there  to  meet 
Mrs  Burroughs,  and  did  take  her  in  a  carosse  and  carry  her 
towards  the  Park,  kissing  her. 

April  28,  1668. — Thence  to  the  New  Exchange  to  pay  a 
debt  of  my  wife's  there,  and  so  home. 

April  30,  1668. — Thence  to  the  New  Exchange,  and  then 
home. 

May  1,  1668. — I  back  again  to  the  New  Exchange  a  little. 

May  6,  1668. — Thence  by  water  to  the  New  Exchange, 
where  bought  a  pair  of  shoe-strings. 

May  9,  1668. — I  towards  the  New  Exchange  and  there 
bought  a  pair  of  black  silk  stockings  at  the  hosier's  that  hath 
the  very  pretty  woman  to  his  wife,  about  ten  doors  on  this 
side  of  the  'Change. 

May  20,  1668. — Down  to  the  New  Exchange,  and  there 
cheapened  ribbands  for  my  wife,  and  so  down  to  the  Whey 
house  and  drank  some  and  eat  some  curds,  which  did  by  and 
by  make  my  belly  ake  mightily. 

May  27,  1668. — So  homeward  toward  the  New  Exchange, 
and  meeting  Mr  Creed  he  and  I  to  drink  some  whey  at  the 
whey-house,  and  so  into  the  'Change  and  took  a  walk  or  two. 

May  28, 1668. — By  coach  to  the  New  Exchange,  and  there 
by  agreement  at  my  bookseller's  shop  met  Mercer  and  Gayet. 

May  30,  1668. — Thence  to  the  New  Exchange,  and  there 
met  Harris  and  Rolt,  and  one  Richards,  a  tailor  and  great 
company-keeper.  .  .  .  Thence  set  Rolt  and  some  of  (them) 
at  the  New  Exchange. 

May  31,  1668. — I  by  water  to  the  New  Exchange. 

June  20,  1668. — Took  my  wife  up,  and  calling  at  the  New 
Exchange  at  Smith's  shop,  and  kissed  her  pretty  hand. 
282 


SAMUEL  PEPYS 

July  29,  1668.— So  to  the  New  Exchange. 

July  30,  1668. — Out  with  my  wife  to  the  New  Exchange. 

July  31,  1668. — My  wife  and  Deb.  and  I,  with  Sir  J. 
Minnes,  to  White  Hall,  she  going  hence  to  the  New 
Exchange. 

August  31,  1668. — So  to  the  New  Exchange  and  paid  for 
some  things. 

September  21,  1668.— This  day  I  met  Mr  Moore  in  the 
New  Exchange,  and  had  much  talk  of  my  Lord's  concernments. 

October  20,  1668. — So  to  my  tailor's  and  the  New 
Exchange,  and  so  by  coach  home,  and  there,  having  this  day 
bought  The  Queene  of  Arragon  play,  I  did  get  my  wife  and 
W.  Batelier  to  read  it. 

October  21,  1668. — So  I  away  to  the  New  Exchange,  and 
there  staid  for  my  wife. 

November  23,  1668. — So  to  the  looking-glass  man's  by  the 
New  Exchange. 

January  1,  1669. — Up,  and  with  W.  Hewer,  to  the  New 
Exchange,  and  then  he  and  I  to  the  cabinet-shops,  to  look 
out,  and  did  agree,  for  a  cabinet  to  give  my  wife  for  a  New- 
year's  gift,  and  I  did  buy  one  cost  me  £\\, 

January  11,  1669. — Calling  at  the  New  Exchange  for  a 
book  or  two  to  send  to  Mr  Shepley  and  thence  home.  .  .  . 
Thence  to  the  New  Exchange,  to  buy  some  things  ;  and 
among  others  my  wife  did  give  me  my  pair  of  gloves,  which, 
by  contract,  she  is  to  give  me  in  her  i?30  a  year. 

February  4,  1669. — So  to  the  New  Exchange,  and  thence 
home  to  my  letters. 

February  15,  1669. — Thence  to  my  cozen  Turner's,  where, 
having  ....  been  told  by  her  that  she  had  drawn  me  for 
her  Valentine,  I  did  this  day  call  at  the  New  Exchange,  and 
bought  her  a  pair  of  green  silk  stockings  and  garters  and 
shoe-strings,  and  two  pair  of  jessimy  gloves,  all  coming  to 
about  28s. 

March  3,  1669. — After  the  play  we  to  the  New  Exchange. 

283 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ADELPHI 

March  8,  1669. — I  had  walked  to  the  New  Exchange  and 
there  met  Mr  Moore. 

April  7,  1669. — I  to  the  New  Exchange  to  talk  with 
Betty,  my  little  sempstress. 

HANNAH  MORE  AND  GARRICK'S  FUNERAL 

Adelfhi,  Feb.  2,  1779. 
We  (Miss  Cadogan  and  myself)  went  to  Charing  Cross  to 
see  the  melancholy  procession.  Just  as  we  got  there,  we 
received  a  ticket  from  the  Bishop  of  Rochester,  to  admit 
us  into  the  Abbey.  No  admittance  could  be  obtained  but 
under  his  hand.  We  hurried  away  in  a  hackney  coach, 
dreading  to  be  too  late.  The  bell  of  St  Martin's  and  the 
Abbey  gave  a  sound  that  smote  upon  my  very  soul.  When 
we  got  to  the  cloisters,  we  found  multitudes  striving  for 
admittance.  We  gave  our  ticket,  and  were  let  in,  but 
unluckily  we  ought  to  have  kept  it.  We  followed  the  man, 
who  unlocked  a  door  of  iron,  and  directly  closed  it  upon  us 
and  two  or  three  others,  and  we  found  ourselves  in  a  tower, 
with  a  dark  winding  staircase,  consisting  of  half  a  hundred 
stone  steps.  When  we  got  to  the  top  there  was  no  way  out ; 
we  ran  down  again,  called,  and  beat  the  door  till  the  whole 
pile  resounded  with  our  cries.  Here  we  staid  half  an  hour 
in  perfect  agony ;  we  were  sure  it  would  be  all  over :  nay, 
we  might  never  be  let  out ;  we  might  starve ;  we  might 
perish.  At  length  our  clamours  brought  an  honest  man — a 
guardian  angel,  I  then  thought  him.  We  implored  him  to 
take  care  of  us,  and  get  us  into  a  part  of  the  Abbey  whence 
we  might  see  the  grave.  He  asked  for  the  Bishop's  ticket, 
we  had  given  it  away  to  the  wrong  person,  and  he  was  not 
obliged  to  believe  we  ever  had  one :  yet  he  saw  so  much 
truth  in  our  grief,  that  though  we  were  most  shabby,  and  a 
hundred  fine  people  were  soliciting  the  same  favour,  he  took 
us  under  each  arm — carried  us  safely  through  the  crowd, 
284 


GAR  RICK'S  FUNERAL 

and  put  us  in  a  little  gallery  directly  over  the  grave,  where 
we  could  see  and  hear  everything  as  distinctly  as  if  the 
Abbey  had  been  a  parlour.  Little  things  sometimes  affect 
the  mind  strongly  !  We  were  no  sooner  recovered  from  the 
fresh  burst  of  grief  than  I  cast  my  eyes,  the  first  thing,  on 
Handel's  monument  and  read  the  scroll  in  his  hand,  "  I  know 
that  my  Redeemer  liveth.11  Just  at  three  the  great  doors 
burst  open  with  a  noise  that  shook  the  roof;  the  organ 
struck  up,  and  the  whole  choir  advanced  to  the  grave,  in 
hoods  and  surplices,  singing  all  the  way :  then  Sheridan,  as 
chief  mourner ;  then  the  body  (alas !  whose  body),  with  ten 
noblemen  and  gentlemen,  pall-bearers  ;  hardly  a  dry  eye — the 
very  players,  bred  to  the  trade  of  counterfeiting,  shed 
genuine  tears. 

As  soon  as  the  body  was  let  down,  the  bishop  began  the 
service,  which  he  read  in  a  low,  but  solemn  and  devout 
manner.  Such  an  awful  stillness  reigned,  that  every  word 
was  audible.  How  I  felt  it !  Judge  if  my  heart  did  not 
assent  to  the  wish  that  the  soul  of  our  dear  brother  now 
departed  was  in  peace.  And  this  is  all  of  Garrick !  Yet  a 
very  little  while,  and  he  shall  say  to  the  worm,  "  Thou  art 
m}'  brother  "  ;  and  to  corruption,  "  Thou  art  my  mother  and 
my  sister.11  So  passes  away  the  fashion  of  this  world.  And 
the  very  night  he  was  buried,  the  playhouses  were  as  full, 
and  the  Pantheon  was  as  crowded,  as  if  no  such  thing  had 
happened :  nay,  the  very  mourners  of  the  day  partook  of 
the  revelries  of  the  night — the  same  night  too ! 

As  soon  as  the  crowd  was  dispersed,  our  friend  came  to 
us  with  an  invitation  from  the  bishop's  lady,  to  whom  he 
had  related  our  disaster,  to  come  into  the  deanery.  We 
were  carried  into  her  dressing-room,  but  being  incapable  of 
speech,  she  very  kindly  said  she  would  not  interrupt  such 
sorrow,  and  left  us ;  but  sent  up  wine,  cakes,  and  all  manner 
of  good  things,  which  was  really  well-timed.  I  caught  no 
cold,  notwithstanding  all  I  went  through. 

285 


Ind 


ex 


Absalom  and  Achitophel,  227,  255. 

Adam,  the  brothers,  call  them- 
selves "  Adelphi,"  3  ;  obtain  a 
lease  of  the  Durham  House 
property,  75-76  ;  they  effect  a 
marvellous  transformation,  76- 
79 ;  opposed  by  the  City,  they 
obtain  an  Act  of  Parliament 
for  embanking  the  river,  79 ', 
interesting  letter  on  the  sub- 
ject, 79-84;  Granville  Sharp's 
strictures,  84  ;  the  brothers  in 
financial  difficulties,  85  ;  they 
obtain  another  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment, 85 ;  the  Adelphi  Lot- 
tery, 86-90;  history  of  the 
brothers,  90-98 ;  Robert 
Adam,  90-97;  James  Adam, 
97-98;  John  Adam,  98; 
William  Adam,  98. 

Adam,  the  brothers,  call  them- 
selves "Adelphi,"  3. 

Adam,  James,  90,  92,  97. 

Adam,  John,  98. 

Adam,  Robert,  90-97. 

Adam,  William,  98. 

Adam,  William  (father  of  the 
brothers),  91. 

Addison,  Joseph,  30. 

Adelphi,  origin  of  the  name,  3 ; 
the  brothers  Adam  obtain  the 
lease  of  the  property,  75-76 ; 
transformation  of  the  property, 
76-79 ;  fruitless  opposition  of 

286 


the  City,  79-84 ;  the  Adelphi 
Lottery,  86-90;  Scots  work- 
men succeeded  by  Irish,  98. 

Adelphi  Chapel,  the,  211-212. 

Adelphi  Hotel  (Osborn's),  180- 
181,   183-185. 

Adelphi  Arches,  187-191- 

Aggas'  Map  of  London,  8. 

Aickin  (actor),  148. 

Akenside,  Mark,  269. 

Albans,  Duchess  of  (Harriot 
Mellon),  200,  202-204,  213- 
214. 

Albans,  Duke  of,  75-76,  202. 

Albemarle,  Duchess  of  ("Nan" 
Clarges),  63-71. 

Albemarle,  Duke  of,  255. 

Albert,  Prince  Consort,  118. 

Aldborough,  Lord,  103. 

Alexandra,  Queen,  212. 

Armstrong,  Dr,  210,  212. 

Arts,  Society  of,  in  the  Adelphi, 
100-122;  description  of  the 
paintings  in,  108-118. 

Ashburton,  Baron,  147. 

Atheist,  the,  or  the  Soldier's 
Fortune,  29. 

Aubrey,  the  antiquary,  17,  220. 

Avenue  Theatre,  272. 

Bacon,  Francis,  219-221. 
Baddeley,  Robert,  148. 
Ballade   upon   a    Wedding,  253- 
254. 


INDEX 


Bannister,  John,  174. 
Baron-Wilson,  Mrs,  208. 
Barre,  Isaac,  147. 
Barrington,  Lord,  181. 
Barry,  James,  101-118. 
Bassompiere,  Francois  de,  223- 

224. 
Bathurst,  Lady,  159. 
Batteville,  Baron  de,  229. 
Beaconsfield,  Earl  of,  181. 
Beauclerk,     Lady    Diana,     153, 

155. 
Beauclerk,     Topham,     150-153, 

158. 
Becket,  Andrew,  169-171. 
Beggar's  Opera,  The,  247. 
!  Bek,  Anthony,  Bishop  of  Dur- 
ham, 3-4. 
Bek,  Anthony,  the  second,  3-4. 
Bek,    Walter,    Bishop    of    Lin- 
coln, 4. 
I  Belty,  G.  F.,  167. 
Bensley,  W.,  148. 
I  Blanchard,  E.  L.,  216-217. 
I  Blanchard,  William,  21 6. 

Boleyn,  Anne,  11-12. 
i  Boleyn,  Thomas,  Earl   of  Wilt- 
shire, 11. 
Boscawen,  Mrs,  154-155. 
I  Boswell,  James,   103,  121,  152- 

160. 
I  Boyle,  Roger,  253. 
i  Brackley,  Viscount,  19- 
I  Brandon,  Charles,  219. 
{  Brereton,  Owen  S.,  111. 
Si  Brereton,  William,  148. 
i  Brett,  Sir  Robert,  251. 

Brisden,  John,  41. 
•:'  Britain's    Burse    (the    New    Ex- 
change, which  see). 
|  Broghill,  Lord,  253. 
Brook  Street,  Grosvenor  Square, 
supplied  with  water  from  the 
Adelphi,  240. 
Buccleuch,  Duke  of,  97. 


Buckingham,  Duke  of,  the  first 

("Steenie"),  222-226. 
Buckingham,      Duke      of,      the 

second   (Dryden's    "Zimri"), 

226-229. 
Buckingham  Street,  241-247. 
Burdett,  Sir  Francis,  201. 
Burdett-Coutts,    the     Baroness, 

201,   202,  214. 
Burghley,  Lord,  221. 
Burke,  Edmund,  147. 
Burney,  Dr,  154. 
Bury,    Richard    de,    author    of 

Philobiblon,  9- 
Bute,  Lord,  212. 

Cademan,  Will,  29. 

Caledonian  Hotel,  214. 

Camden,  Lord,  147. 

Campbell,  John,  193-194. 

Campbell,  Lord  Frederick,  97. 

Campbell  &  Coutts,  197. 

Carew,  Sir  George,  12. 

Carmarthen,  Lord,  243. 

Carter,  Mrs  Elizabeth,  154,  156, 
162. 

Cavendish,  Henry,  255. 

Cawarden,  Sir  Thomas,  251. 

Chamberlayne,  157. 

Charles  the  First,  223-224. 

Charles  II.,  38. 

Chastillon,     de,     French     Am- 
bassador, 14. 

Chinese  wall-paper  in  the  Strand, 
210-211. 

Christmas,  Gerrard,  251. 

Cibber,  Mrs,  248. 

Clarendon,  Lord,  254-255. 

Clarges,     "Nan,"     Duchess     of 
Albemarle,  63-71. 

Clarke,  John  S.,  272. 

Clemens,  Samuel  L.,  215. 

Clinton,  Lord,  12. 

Clouston,  R.  S.,  92-94. 

Coal  Meter's  Office,  38. 

287 


INDEX 


Colman,  George,  the  elder,  147, 

174. 
Commissioners      of      Accounts, 

office  of,  36. 
Conscious  Lovers,  The,  247. 
Constable,  John,  242. 
Constitutional  Club,  269- 
Cosmo,  the  Grand  Duke,  27. 
Country  Wife,  The,  30. 
Coutts,  the  house  of,  192-214. 
Coutts,  James,  196-197. 
Coutts,  John,  195-196. 
Coutts,  Patrick,  195-196. 
Coutts,  Thomas,  196-213. 
Coutts,  William,  195. 
Covent     Garden     Theatre,    57, 

126,  137,  159,  270. 
Coventry,  Earl  of,  97. 
Coventry,  Lord  Keeper,  36. 
Cows  in  the  Adelphi,  189- 
Crabbe,  George,  181. 
Cranmer,  Thomas,  11-12. 
Craven  Street,  269-272. 
Creed,  John,  39- 
Cricket,  The,  187. 
Crofts,  Dean  of  Norwich,  39- 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  48,  228-229. 
Cromwell,  Lord,  12. 
Cromwell,  Richard,  12. 
Cunningham,  Peter,  76. 

Daily  Telegraph,  The,  217. 

Danes,  St  Clement,  162. 

David    Copperfield,  scenes  from, 

in    the    Adelphi,    184,    246- 

247. 
Davies,  Thomas,  41. 
Delany,  Mrs,  166. 
Devonshire,  Duke  of,  147. 
Dickens,  Charles,  frequents  the 

Adelphi    when    a    boy,    182- 

183;      scenes      from      David 

Copperfield,      184,      246-247; 

from        Pickwick,        184-185; 

banks  with  Coutts  &  Co.,  212. 
288 


Disraeli,  Benjamin,  181. 

D' Israeli,  Isaac,  181,  224. 

Dodd,  James,  147. 

Dowgate,  234. 

Drury  Lane   Theatre,   124-126, 
164,  247. 

Drury  Lane  Fund,  124. 

Dryden,  John,  29,  30,  40,  227. 

Dudley,  Duke  of  Northumber- 
land, 14-15. 

Dudley,  Lady  Catherine,  15. 

Dudley,  Lord  Guildford,  15. 

Dudley,  Sir  John,  12. 

Duffet,  Thomas,  27. 

Dundonald,  Earl  of,  200-201. 

Durham  House,  its  origin  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  3-4 ; 
Otho,  the  papal  legate,  the 
Oxford  clergy  and  scholars 
make  "solemn  submission" 
to  him  here,  4-5  ;  Henry  III. 
shelters  here,  6 ;  Prince 
(Henry  V.)  stays  here,  6 ; 
Richard  de  Bury,  author  of 
Philohiblon,  lives  here,  8  ;  Hat- 
field, Thomas,  Bishop  of  Dur- 
ham, 7,  9;  Henry  VIII.  appro- 
priates the  house,  10;  grants 
it  to  Thomas  Boleyn,  1 1 ;  Anne 
Boleyn  and  Princess  Elizabeth, 
11;  Cranmer  resides  here,  11; 
great  festivities  attended 
by  Henry  VIII.  and  Anne . 
Boleyn,  the  Court,  the  Mayor 
of  London,  etc.,  12-13  ;  Chas- 
tillon,  the  French  Ambassador 
to  Edward  VI.,  lodges  here, 
14;  Edward  VI.  grants  the 
house  to  the  Princess  Eliza- 
beth, 14;  a  mint  here,  1 4 ; 
Lady  Jane  Grey  married  here, 
1 5  ;  Queen  Elizabeth  acquires 
the  house,  1 4 ;  grants  it  to 
Walter  Raleigh,  1 5  ;  Raleigh's 
residence  here,  1 6-20  ;  Philip 


INDEX 


Sidney,  16;  Raleigh  dis- 
possessed, 1 8  ;  his  letter  of 
remonstrance,  1 8  ;  the  case  of 
Glanville  v.  Courtney,  1 9 ;  a 
fire  here,  1 9  ;  tobacco  at  Dur- 
ham House,  20 ;  falls  into 
decay,  36. 

Durham  House  Street,  8,  21, 
72. 

Durham  Rents,  72. 

Durham  Yard,  36-37,  71-73,  75. 

Durham  Yard,  fire  in,  38-4-1. 

Dyce,  William,  242. 

Edgecombe,  Lady,  159. 
Edward  III.  at  Durham  House, 

9- 

Edward  IV.,  251. 

Edward  VI.,  14,  251. 

Edward  VII.  King,  212,  215. 

Edwin  and  Angelina,  258. 

Egerton,  Lord  Chancellor,  221. 

Egerton,  Thomas  (Baron  Elles- 
mere),  19- 

Elizabeth,  Princess  (Queen),  11, 
14,  15-16,  17,  221. 

Elliston,  William,  164. 

Embankment,  Victoria,  the,  191- 

Essex,  Earl  of,  221. 

Etherege,  Sir  George,  29. 

Etty,  William,  242-243. 

Evelyn,  229,  232-233,  247,  263. 

Exchange,  the  New,  the  laying 
of  the  foundation  stone,  21  ; 
the  Earl  of  Salisbury  pro- 
prietor, 21  ;  opposition  of  the 
City,  22 ;  its  interior,  22 ; 
opened  by  James  I.  as  "  Bri- 
tain's Burse,"  22  ;  Stow's  de- 
scription, 23-24;  the  Vene- 
tian Ambassador  writes  about 
it  to  the  Doge  and  State  of 
Venice,  24  ;  the  Earl  of  Salis- 
bury, 25-26 ;  Tobie  Matthew, 
26 ;  its  most  flourishing  period. 


27  ;  various  allusions  to  it  by 
the  dramatists  of  Charles  II. 
period,  and  others,  27-30 ; 
the  first  edition  of  Othello 
published  here,  28 ;  Henry 
Herringman,  the  publisher, 
29 ;  Dryden,  Otway,  Etherege, 
29 ;  Samuel  Pepys,  29,  37, 
38,  39,  [see  also  Appendix]  ; 
Addison,  30;  Rules  for  the  New 
Exchange,  30  -  35  ;  murder 
here,  44  -  48  ;  the  < '  White 
Milliner,"  49-63;  Douglas 
Jerrold's  play  on  the  sub- 
ject, 57-63  ;  «  Nan  "  Clarges, 
Duchess  of  Albemarle,  63- 
71  ;  Gay's  Trivia,  71  ;  quack 
doctors,  71  ;  overcrowding  of 
the  Exchange,  73 ;  order  of 
the  Inner  Star  Chamber,  74. 

Fairfax,  General,  226-229. 
Fair  Penitent,  The,  141,  247. 
Farren,  William,  58. 
Fatal  Falsehood,  The,  159- 
Fergusson,  James,  95-96. 
Fire  at  Northumberland  House, 

263. 
FitzHerbert,  Mrs,  212. 
Flaxman,  John,  242. 
Foote,  Samuel,  41. 
Forbes,  William,  154. 
Fox,  C.  J.,  147,  212. 
"Fox-under-the-Hill,"  the,  186- 

187. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  269. 
Fuller,  Thomas,  5. 
Fuseli,  Henry,  242. 


Garrick,  David,  wine  merchant 
in  the  Adelphi,  40  ;  purchases 
No.  5  Adelphi  (then  Royal) 
Terrace,  123;  his  London 
home,  1773,  until  his  death 
in  1779,  123-141;  his  last 
19  289 


INDEX 


appearance  on  the  stage,  125  ; 
helps  in  the  production  of 
Percy,  126;  his  friendship  for 
Hannah  More,  126,  128,  129; 
eulogised  by  Edmund  Burke 
and  Fox,  127;  Hannah  More 
writes  to  Garrick,  129-131  ; 
his  answer,  131  ;  her  thanks, 
132  ;  Garrick  presents  her 
with  his  "  Felix  Buckles," 
133;  he  writes  to  her  again 
and  encourages  her  in  regard 
to  her  tragedy,  134-135  ;  "  Mr 
Garrick's  study,  Adelphi,  ten 
at  night,"  136;  the  "  sour 
crout  party,"  138;  Garrick 
carries  Hannah  More's  dinner 
from  the  Adelphi  to  the 
Turk's  Head,  138;  his  illness 
and  death,  139-141  ;  his 
burial  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
141,  145-148;  his  funeral, 
145-148,  Appendix;  John- 
son's praise  of  him,  148-152  ; 
Johnson's  lament — "  two  such 
friends,''  158;  Shakespeare's 
gloves  presented  to  him,  16?- 
169;  he  solicits  the  brothers 
Adam  on  behalf  of  Andrew 
Becket,  the  bookseller,  171  ; 
a  doubtful  anecdote,  171  ; 
"Anthony  Pasquin's "  mis- 
statement, 248. 

Garrick,  Mrs,  128-132,  138- 
144;  her  famous  dinner  party, 
153-158;  her  life  in  Adelphi 
Terrace,  158-161  ;  her  con- 
sideration for  Hannah  More, 
l6l  ;  "a  great  dinner  "  at  her 
house,  162;  her  last  letter  to 
Hannah  More,  163  ;  her  death 
and  burial  in  the  Abbey,  164  ; 
memoir  of,  165-166;  be- 
queathes Shakespeare's  gloves 
to  Mrs  Siddons,  166. 

290 


Gay,  John,  71. 
George  III.,  125,  212. 
George  IV.,  212. 
George  Court,  21,  72. 
Gerbier,  Sir  Balthazar,  222,  224. 
Gibbon,  Edward,  181. 
Gilbert  Gurney,  182. 
Glanville  v.  Courtney,  19. 
Goldsmith,    Oliver,     121,     122  ; 

his  pathetic  letters  to  Garrick, 

167-169,  258-262. 
Goodman,  Bishop,  16. 
Goodman,  Godfrey,  225. 
Gordon,  Lord  George,  212. 
Graham,    James   ("Dr"),    172- 

181. 
Grand  Hotel,  268. 
Great  Exhibition  of  1851,  268. 
Grenville,  Lord,  212. 
Grey,  Lady  Jane,  15. 
Guns  in  the  Adelphi,  188. 

Hackman,  James,  270. 
Hamilton,  Lady  (Emma  Lyon), 

176-178. 
Hamilton,  Mrs,  1 62. 
Han  way,  Jonas,  103. 
Hardy,  Thomas,  21 6. 
Harley,  Robert,  244. 
Hastings,  Lord,  15. 
Hatfield,     Thomas,     Bishop    of 

Durham,  7,  9- 
Hawkins,  Sir  John,  260. 
Haydon,  Benjamin,  102. 
Haymarket  Theatre,  174. 
Hazlitt,  William,  183. 
Heath,  Archbishop  of  York,    8, 

219. 
Hebden,  Sir  John,  233. 
Heine,  Heinrich,  270. 
Henderson,  John,  245. 
Henry  III.  shelters  at  Durham 

House,  5,  251. 
Henry  V.  at  Durham  House,  6, 

251. 


INDEX 

Henry  VIII.  appropriates  Dur- 
ham House,  9-10;  instals 
Cranmer  here,  1 1  ;  feasts  at 
Durham  House,   12,  251. 

Herbert,  J.  R.,  242. 

Herbert,  Lord,  15. 

Herbert,  Philip,  Earl  of  Pem- 
broke, 36. 

Herringman,  Henry,  29- 

Hewson,  Hugh,  245. 

Hill,  Aaron,  247. 

Hill,  Sir  Rowland,  120. 

Hill,  Thomas  ("Paul  Pry"), 
182. 

Hilton,  William,  242. 

Holland,  James,  242. 

Hood,  Thomas,  183. 

Hook,  Theodore,  182. 

Horace's  Art  of  Poetry,  29- 

Hotel  Metropole,  269. 

Hotel  Victoria,  269. 

Howard,  Henry,  251. 

Howard,  Lady  Elizabeth,  252. 

Howard,  Lord  William,  12. 

Howard,  Thomas,  252. 

Howson,  John,  Bishop  of 
Durham,  36. 

Hume,  David,  244-245. 

Hunt,  Leigh,  7,  42,  226,  269. 

Irving,  Henry,  141,  212. 
Ivy  Lane,  186-187. 

James  I.,  18,  22,  26,  225, 
251. 

James,  William,  Bishop  of 
Durham,  26,  36. 

Jane  Shore,  247. 

Jansen,  Bernard,  253. 

Jerrold,  Douglas,  57-63. 

Jesse,  J.  H.,  229. 

Johnson,  Samuel,  103,  121-123, 
138,  141,  147,  148  ;  his  praise 
of  Garrick,  152 ;  he  attends 
Mrs    Garrick's  famous  dinner 


party,  153-158;  his  first 
meeting  with  Mrs  Garrick 
after  her  husband's  death, 
160;  he  pays  a  morning  visit 
to  her  house  and  gives  advice 
to  Hannah  More,  l6l  ;  banks 
with  Courts,  212. 

Jonathan's  Coffee  House,  88. 

Jones,  Inigo,  236. 

Jonson,  Ben,  220. 

Kean,  Edmund,  200. 
Keeley,  Robert,  58. 
Killaloe,  Bishop  of,  157. 
King,  Tom,  147. 
Kingston,  Anthony,  12. 
Kippis,  Andrew,  121,  122. 
Kitchener,  Lord,  215. 
Kneller,  Godfrey,  40. 
Konigsmark,  Count,  255-257. 

Lamb,  Charles,  183. 

Lancaster,  Duchy  of,  its  Adelphi 

boundary,  186. 
Laud,  Archbishop,  222. 
Lauderdale,  Earl  of,  97. 
L%vrence,  Sir  Thomas,  212. 
Leicester,  Earl  of,  6. 
Lennox,  Duke  of,  220. 
Lewes,  Lee,  148. 
Lewis,  "Gentleman,"  148. 
Linton,  Sir  James  D.,  215. 
Liston,  John,  182. 
Livingstone,  David,  212. 
London,  the  city  of,  opposes  the 

New   Exchange,  22 ;    opposes 

the      embankment      of      the 

Adelphi,  79. 
London,     the     Mayor     of,     the 

aldermen     and     their     wives 

entertained  at  Durham  House 

in  1540,  13. 
Londonderry,  Lord,  212. 
Lyon,  Emma  (Lady  Hamilton), 

176-178. 

291 


INDEX 


Macartney,  Lord,  210,  212. 

Maclise,  Daniel,  242. 

Malton,  Thomas,  76. 

Manchester,  Earl  of,  255. 

Man  of  Mode,  The,  29. 

Maria,  Queen  Henrietta,  223- 
224. 

Mary,  Queen,  10,  219- 

MatheAv,  Archbishop,  222. 

Mathew,  Tobias,  Bishop  of 
Durham,  18. 

Mathew,  Tobie,  26. 

Mathews,  Charles, the  Elder,  27 1 . 

Mathews,  Charles  J.,  58. 

Maude,  Cyril,  272. 

Mellon,  Harriot  (Duchess  of  St 
Albans),  200,  202-204,  213- 
214. 

Middleton,  George,  193-194. 

Miller,  Thomas,  188. 

Monk,  Colonel  George  (Duke  of 
Albemarle),  64-71,  255. 

Montague,  Mrs,  159- 

Moody,  John,  148. 

More,  Hannah,  Mr  and  Mrs 
Garrick's  friendship  for  her, 
126,  128-138;  begs  Garrick 
to  write  her  the  prologue  to 
Percy,  131;  his  gracious  reply, 
132 ;  presented  by  Garrick 
with  his  "  Felix  Buckles," 
133  ;  visits  Hampton  with  the 
Garricks,  and  meets  many 
celebrities  at  their  house,  133  ; 
Garrick  writes  to  her,  134- 
135 ;  production  of  Percy, 
136;  dines  with  Garrick's 
"sour  crout  party"  in  the 
Adelphi,  138;  Garrick  carries 
her  dinner  to  her,  138  ; 
meets  many  celebrities  in 
company  with  Garrick,  139; 
her  first  visit  to  Mrs  Garrick 
after  the  death  of  the  great 
actor,   141-144;    her   descrip- 

292 


tion  of  a  famous  dinner  party, 
153-154;  her  life  with  Mrs 
Garrick,  158-163;  Johnson's 
advice  to  her,  l6l  ;  attends 
St  Clement  Dane's,  162  ;  her 
"complete  holiday"  in  the 
Adelphi,  163  ;  Mrs  Garrick's 
letter  to  her,  1 63 ;  her  grati- 
tude to  Mr  and  Mrs  Garrick, 
164. 
Morning   Advertiser,  the    (1771), 

79- 
Morning  Chronicle,  the,  183. 
Munday,  Anthony,  22. 
Munro,  Dr  Thomas,  181. 

Naval  Architects,  Institution  of, 

215. 
Nelson,  Lord,  211,  212. 
Northampton  House,  251-253. 
Northumberland   Avenue,    265- 

269. 
Northumberland     House,    250- 

268. 
Norwich,  Bishop  of,  8. 

Ogle,  Earl  of,  255. 

Oldys,  William,  19. 

Osborn's   Hotel,  180-181,  183- 

185. 
Ossory,  Earl  of,  147. 
Othello,the  first  edition  published 

in  the  New  Exchange,  28. 
Otho,  the  papal  legate,  4. 
Otway,  Thomas,  29. 

Pall  Mall,  murder  in,  256. 
Palmer,  John,  148. 
Palmerston,  Viscount,  147. 
Parsons,  Wm.,  147. 
"  Pasquin,  Anthony,"  248. 
PaulPri),  182. 
Peacock,  Edwin  E.,  215. 
Pembroke,  Earl  of,  251. 
Pennant,   Thomas,    his   account 


INDEX 


of  London  referred  to,  7,  8, 

14,  15,  48,  250. 
Pepys,  Samuel,  29,   37,  38,  39, 

52,  67,  229-233,  241. 
Percy,  Algernon,  252,  254. 
Percy,  Dr,  157,  259,  263. 
Percy,  Hannah  More's  tragedy, 

126,  131,  133,  135-138. 
Percy,  Josceline,  255. 
Percy,     Lady     Elizabeth,    255, 

257-258. 
Peter  the  Great,  243-244. 
Phillips,  John,  245. 
Pickwick,  scene  in  the  Adelphi, 

183-185. 
Pictures      at      Northumberland 

House,  263-265. 
Pictures  at  York  House,  223. 
Pinkerton,  John,  198. 
Pitt,  William,  212,  269. 
Playhouse,  the,  272. 
Ponings,  Sir  Thomas,  12. 
Poole,  John,  182. 
Pope,  Alexander,  212. 
Portugal,  King  of,  212. 
Power,  Moore's  publisher,  245. 
Puckering,  Sir  John,  221. 
Pulteney,  Richard,  97- 

Quacks,  71,  120,  172-181. 
Quick,  John,  1 48. 
Quincey,  De,  Thomas,  183. 

Rackett,  Thomas,  167. 
Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  16-20,  73. 
Ratford,  Thomas,  64. 
Read,  Sir  William,  71-72. 
Rehearsal,  The,  227. 
Reid,  Whitelaw,  215. 
Rejected  Addresses,  the,  270. 
Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua,  102,  138, 

150,  154-157,  210,  270. 
Rigby,  Richard,  147. 
Roberts,  Earl,  215. 
Romney,  Lord,  101,  103,  110. 


Rose,  Sir  George,  272. 
Rounceval,  St  Mary,  250-251. 
Rousseau,    Jean    Jacques,    244- 

245. 
Rowlandson,  Thomas,  181. 

Sa,  don  Pantaleon  de,  44-48. 
Sackville,  Charles,  244. 
Salisbury,  Robert  (Lord),  21,  23, 

25,  26. 
Sandwich     Islands,     King     and 

Queen  of,  180-181. 
Savage  Club,  215,  217. 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  212. 
Scott,  Sir  William,  122. 
Seymour,  Algernon,  258. 
Seymour,  Charles,  257-258. 
Seymour,  Sir  Thomas,  12,  14-15. 
Sharp,  Granville,  84. 
Sharrington,  Sir  William,  14. 
Sheffield,  Lord,  181. 
She  Woidd  if  She  Could,  29. 
Shipley,  William,  100. 
Siddons,      Mrs,      Shakespeare's 

gloves  bequeathed  to  her  by 

Garrick,  166. 
Sidney,  Philip,  16. 
Sidney,  Sir  Henry,  16. 
Sir  Martin  Marrall,  40. 
Smith,  Horatio  ("Horace"),  270. 
Smith,  J.  T.,  242. 
Smith,  James,  270,  272. 
Smith,  "  Strata,"  245. 
Smith,  W.  F.  D.,  212. 
Smithson,  Sir  Hugh,  258,  262. 
Society  for  Promoting  Christian 

Knowledge,  269. 
Somerset,  Earl  of,  221. 
Spain,  Queen  of,  212. 
Spectator,  the  (Addison's),  30. 
Spencer,  Earl,  147. 
Spencer,  Lady,  159. 
Spencer,  Lord  Charles,  147. 
Standard,  The,  267. 
Stanfield,  Clarkson,  242. 

293 


INDEX 


Starkie,  Susan,  200. 
State  Papers,  the,  21,  30,  44. 
Steele,  Richard,  247. 
Stephen,  Thomas,  196. 
Stone,  Nicholas,  236. 
Stormont,  Viscount,  97. 
Stothard,  Thomas,  242. 
Stow,  John,  his  Survey  referred 

to,  6,  12,  22,  186,  218,  250. 
Stowell,  Baron,  122. 
Strand,    the,   its    ancient   state, 

249-250. 
Strype,  John,  36,  187,  219. 
Stuart,  John,  245. 
Suckling,  Sir  John,  253. 
Suffolk,  Earl  of,  252. 
Suffolk  House,  252. 
Surrey,  Earl  of,  12. 
Syon  House,  94,  264. 

Tatler,  The  (1709),  40. 
Tennyson,  Alfred,  212. 
"Three  Crowns  in  the  Strand," 

the,  194,  208. 
Three  Graces,  the,  201. 
Thynne,  Thomas,  255-257. 
Timbs,  John,  187. 
Toole,  John  Lawrence,  182. 
Trayleman,  John,  227. 
Trivia,  Gay's,  71. 
Tunstall,    Cuthbert,    Bishop    of 

Durham,  10,  15. 
Turk's  Head,  the,  138. 
Turner,  J.  H.,  242. 
Twain,  Mark,  215. 
Tyrconnel,     Duchess     of     (the 

"White  Milliner"),  49-63. 
Venetian  Ambassador,  the,  24. 
Vernon  (actor),  147. 
Vesey,  Mrs,  159. 
Vestris,  Madame,  57,  58. 


Victoria,  Queen,  120,  212. 
Villiers  Street,  247-248. 
Vining,  James,  58. 
Voltaire,  41-43,  248. 

Wales,  Prince  of  (1874),  103. 
Walkley,      Thomas,     the      first 

publisher  of  Othello,  28. 
Waller,  Sir  William,  255. 
Walpole,  Horace,  49,  51,  79,  92, 

98,  162,  174. 
Ward,  Joshua,  120. 
Wellington,  the  Duke  of,  212. 
Wellwood,  James,  244. 
Westminster,  city  of,  its  Adelphi 

boundary,  186. 
West,  Benjamin,  212. 
Wheatley,  Henry  B.,  The  Adelphi 

and  its  Site,  89  ;  245. 
"White  Milliner,"  the  (Frances 

Jennings,    Duchess    of    Tyr- 
connel), 49-63. 
White    Milliner,     The,    Douglas 

Jerrold's  play,  57-63. 
William  IV.,  212. 
Wilson,    Thomas,    26,    35,    72- 

73. 
Wine    licenses    granted   in   the 

Adelphi  in  1675,  38. 
Wood,  Anthony,  40. 
Worcester  House,  8. 
Wycherley,  William,  30. 

Yates,  Richard,  147. 
York,  Archbishop  of,  8. 
York  House,  8,  219-234. 
York  Water-Gate,  235-239- 
York  Water- Works,  239-241. 

Zara,  247-248. 
Zucchi,  Antonio,  215. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  LOS  ANGELES 
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